Alcohol

It can be difficult to know what to do if you discover your son or daughter is drinking alcohol underage - especially in large quantities. Even in small amounts, it has an effect and good judgement and decisions can be harder to make. The reality is, alcohol is readily available and we can't shield our children from it. It's everywhere - but we can face the issue and open the conversation up.

Start the conversation

It's a good idea to talk to your child about how alcohol can:

• slow down their body and make accidents more likely to happen
• make them violent
• make them feel invincible, which could lead to making bad decisions
• make them less aware of things
• make them vulnerable and someone could take advantage of them more easily
• result in passing out, choking on your own sick, overdosing and even dying
• lead to alcoholism - which is when people are addicted to alcohol. People then feel they have to drink all the time to avoid feeling ill or to cope with things
• damage your liver, heart, stomach and brain.

Young people can find it difficult to talk to their parents about alcohol. It may be helpful to guide them to the websites below which offer guidance and information.

Useful websites

The Alcohol Education Trust also has a parent area to provide you with a huge range of advice and tips on keeping your teenagers safe around alcohol.

Drinkaware is an independent charity working to reduce alcohol misuse and harm in the UK. We're here to help people make better choices about drinking.

CADAS - Providing drug and alcohol services to individuals, family members and communities to support recovery.