The Four Biggest Myths About Underage Drinking (And What Parents Can Do About Them)!

© 2016 Mothers Against Drunk Driving

The Four Biggest Myths About Underage Drinking

(and what parents can do about them).

© 2016 Mothers Against Drunk Driving2

Mission Moment

“Casey, my oldest son, was what you’d call a ‘good

kid’ – on the honor roll every semester, in the

marching band, in the choir.

I had the false sense of security that he had the

maturity of someone who could handle his liquor, but I

was wrong.” – Comments from a mother whose son

died from alcohol poisoning at the age of 18.

Read Casey’s story at madd.org/powerofparents

http://www.madd.org/powertalk21


Acknowledgement

• MADD is grateful to Dr. Robert Turrisi and his colleagues at Pennsylvania State University for their partnership with MADD.

• We are giving away an Amazon Echo, Kindle Fire HD, and $50 gift cards. Details at the end of the presentation.


PowerTalk 21

• PowerTalk 21® is April 21st, a day dedicated to inspiring intentional, ongoing, and potentially lifesaving conversations between parents and kids about alcohol.


Underage Drinking Statistics

• Research shows that kids and teens who drink are a danger to themselves, their friends, and others. The sooner kids drink, the more severe the problems they face in the long and short term.

• Kids who drink alcohol before the age of 21 are more likely to:

– Face problems in school

– Get assaulted

– Abuse alcohol later in life

– Drown or fall

– Die in a car crash

The sooner kids drink, the more severe the problems they may

face. #PowerofParents

https://twitter.com/home?status=The sooner kids drink, the more severe the problems they may face.#PowerofParents http://bit.ly/1SFtzle


MYTH #1

• My kid doesn’t drink.

STATISTIC

• About 43% of high school seniors have drunk alcohol in the past 30 days

• About 27% of kids try alcohol before graduating from 8th grade

Download MADD’s Power of Parents

Pocket Guide to learn more.

http://bit.ly/1qwnz5n


FACT

STATISTIC

• About 43% of high school seniors have drunk alcohol in the past 30 days

• About 27% of kids try alcohol before graduating from 8th grade

Download MADD’s Power of Parents

Pocket Guide to learn more.

http://bit.ly/1qwnz5n


FACT

• The COLD, HARD TRUTH is that even if your child doesn’t drink, he or she could still be at risk.

• 2 in 5 kids admitted to riding with a drinking driver in the past month. But only 1 in 5 parents think their kid have ridden with a drinking driver in the past year.

? Take our quiz to see if your child is

showing signs of drinking.

http://bit.ly/23luCfc


MYTH #2

• My son or daughter has learned about the negative effects of alcohol in school.


FACT

• Health classes sometimes touch on alcohol, but research shows that many important issues never get covered AT ALL.


FACT

• The COLD, HARD TRUTH is that the message your child IS receiving about alcohol from the media and our culture encourage drinking and glamorize alcohol.

• The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Jan. 2016 issue, found our youth were exposed more than 15 billion times to alcohol ads on television –mostly on cable networks – between 2005 and 2012.

Attend MADD’s 15-minute workshop

to learn strategies to help YOUR

message cut through the advertising

noise.

http://www.madd.org/underage-drinking/powertalk-21/powertalk-21-webinar.html


MYTH #3

• My son or daughter won’t listen to me at this point.


FACT

Statistic

• Research shows that parents are the number one source that teens turn to for important information. Parents can influence their teen’s decision not to drink.


FACT

• The COLD, HARD TRUTH is that you hold an ENOURMOUS sway over your child or teen.

• Your parenting style may play a role, not only in your child’s attitudes and opinions about drinking, but also in how likely they are to binge drink.

? Take our interactive quiz to discover

your parenting style.

http://www.madd.org/underage-drinking/the-power-of-parents/quiz-1.html


Tweet This!

“We have met parents who teach basic family values, like

honesty and responsibility, but never discuss alcohol directly with

their kids.”

https://twitter.com/home?status=%E2%80%9CWe have met parents who teach family values, like responsibility, but never discuss alcohol with their kids.%E2%80%9D http://bit.ly/1SFtzle


MYTH #4

• Drinking is okay as long as my son or daughter doesn’t drink and drive.

Discover how to protect your child at

our virtual Town Hall with Dr. Turrisi

April 20th.

http://bit.ly/1qwp1ot


FACT

Statistic

• Only one-third of underage drinking deaths are because of automobile crashes. The rest are caused by falls, poisoning, suicide, etc.



April 20th.



FACT

• The COLD, HARD TRUTH is that alcohol kills more people than all other drugs combined.



April 20th.



Show & Tell

Play SHOW & TELL

Send the right message to

your kids through both your

actions and words.

Establish House Rules• No drinking before the age of 21

• No socializing in places where teens

drink

• No riding in a car with a driver who has

had ANY amount of alcohol

Impose consistent

consequences.

DON’T base your

actions on anger.

• What can a parent do to reduce the risk of their child or teen drinking before the age of 21?


Bonus!

• In honor of PowerTalk 21®, we are giving away an Amazon Echo, Kindle Fire HD, and $50 gift cards.

• To be automatically entered to win:1. Download the pocket guide

2. Attend the virtual Town Hall

3. Attend a 15-minute online workshop

4. Take one or all of the PowerTalk quizzes

Each unique actions earns you an entry into the random drawing, which ends April 30th. See official rules here.

http://www.madd.org/underage-drinking/the-power-of-parents/madd-program-guide-parents.html





Government & Nonprofit

The Four Biggest Myths About Underage Drinking (And What Parents Can Do About Them)!