Underage Drinking Prevention

Steps to help prevent underage drinking.

Follow these tips to do your part.

• Talk with your child about underage drinking. Make it a conversation, not a lecture. Ask open-ended questions that can’t be answered with just yes or no, and don’t judge what you hear.
• Set clear rules and expectations. Make it clear that alcohol use is NOT okay, but keep communication open. Encourage them to come to you with problems and questions. Give them guidelines of what to do if they are faced with underage drinking (“Call me and I will pick you up, anytime.”)    
• Know their friends and their friends’ parents. Make sure the parents of your child’s friends are on the same page with you about underage alcohol use. 
• Be a good role model. Never drink and drive, or ride in a car with an impaired driver. Never give alcohol to your child or their friends, and get help if you believe you have an alcohol or drug problem. 
• Know the potential risk factors. These include:
  • Life transitions, such as graduating from middle or high school or getting a driver’s license
  • Social or emotional problems
  • Depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues
  • Family history of alcohol or other substance use disorders
  • Socializing with peers who drink alcohol or use drugs
• Don’t make alcohol easily accessible. Keep it in a locked cabinet or difficult-to-reach area.
• Limit unsupervised alone time. If your child is home by themselves after school, consider enrolling them in an after-school program or encourage them to join extracurricular activities. Studies show that kids left unsupervised are more likely to use alcohol.

Learn more about underage drinking. Visit the website of the Michigan Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking (MCRUD), part of the Prevention Network. They offer training, meetings, parenting tips to combat underage alcohol use.