Alcohol and Teens

Gidday I’m John Cowan from The Parenting Place.

It’s not often you’d say that a Health Promotion Agency video is great but there’s an excellent one showing a Dad trying to act cool at his teenage kids party – doing weird dance moves and pranks and giving kids alcohol.

I think it’s a great advert because it subtly points out the tendency for parents to want to be accepted by their teenagers as a peer rather than a parent. Teenagers have enough mates. They just need more parents in their life.

When we flirt with their girlfriends and try to impress and win their friendship by plying them with alcohol, we just look pathetic in the teenagers’ eyes and lose the sense of authority.

It’s a funny ad but the serious message in the commercial is that too many teenagers get alcohol from the people who should be protecting them from it.

The research is clear: the earlier young people start drinking the more likely they’ll have problems with alcohol in later life. There are laws coming in effect to help us as parents but we still have to do our bit. By all means be a cool mum or dad but be a real parent.

From all of us at The Parenting Place, have a great Christmas.

For more tips on talking to teenagers about alcohol read this free downloadable article.