Mockingbird

Tim Iverson English Feb. 9, 2007

Persuasive Essay: Teens and Alcohol Abuse
Teens like to drink so they can be in a different world and forget all their problems in life. Their peers also pressure them to party and have fun and drink. Studies show that teen drinking and driving and alcohol abuse is on the rise. My plan is to raise awareness of the issue of teen drinking and how communication between parents and teens can reduce the incidence of adolescent alcohol abuse and drunk driving related deaths. Parental awareness and involvement is essential to keeping teens safe. Parents need to teach their children how to keep safe in situations involving alcohol. Share with them the risks and give them some facts that inform them to take responsible actions instead of actions that could harm themselves or other people. Parents need to be there for their teens, especially if you see that they need help. Underage drinking can have serious consequences. You can protect your children from the risks associated with drinking by maintaining open communication and expressing a clear, consistent message about alcohol. Building a close relationship with your kids will make it easier for them to come to you for help in making decisions that impact their health and well-being. Parents need to keep tabs on where their child goes and offer them their assistance such as driving them home from a party if they drank too much to drive themselves home. Studies show adolescents whose parents closely monitor their activities are less likely to use alcohol or to be in risky situations involving alcohol. If they were scared of the situation like people getting so drunk that they are being wild and dangerous to the people around them at a party. Also, parents should set good examples for their kids so they learn what to do in that situation and they need help. If one parent is a heavy drinker, the child 's chances of becoming a heavy drinker increase by two or three times more than if the parents are not heavy drinker. Teens need to take responsibility for their own actions.

Teens need to have communication with their family and friends. Watch out for your friends if they have had too much to drink so you can take the responsibility to be the designated driver. You need to know when to stop so you don’t binge drink on alcohol and harm your body. Know what you are doing to you body and the effects. Like having liver problems when you are older. And Heart and central nervous system damage. You get bad hangovers and impaired judgment, which can lead to accidents during drunk driving. To summarize, teen alcohol abuse can be prevented by good communication between parents and teens, between teens and their peers, and by awareness of the effects that alcohol can have.

Bibliography Website links= http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/alcohol.html http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/MakeADiff_HTML/makediff.htm http://www.drugrehabtreatment.com/parental-influences.html http://www.menstuff.org/issues/byissue/teenalcohol.html http://health.yahoo.com/topic/parenting/teen/article/healthwise/uq2557 http://www.family.samhsa.gov/stop/

Bibliography: Website links= http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/alcohol.html http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/MakeADiff_HTML/makediff.htm http://www.drugrehabtreatment.com/parental-influences.html http://www.menstuff.org/issues/byissue/teenalcohol.html http://health.yahoo.com/topic/parenting/teen/article/healthwise/uq2557 http://www.family.samhsa.gov/stop/