Parents Can Prevent Drinking
Ways to Help your College Kid Make the Right Decisions about Alcohol
College alcohol abuse is a huge problem without an easy, one-size-fits-all solution. You may think when your child leaves for college that you’re powerless to combat the lure of alcohol at parties, bars, and campus events. But just as many different factors influence students’ decisions to drink, there are many opportunities you can take to promote healthy choices about alcohol with your child.
The College Alcohol Problem
College drinking is not an innocent rite of passage as portrayed in movies from Animal House to Old School. According to "What Colleges Need to Know Now: An Update on College Drinking Research" by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, every year college alcohol abuse is responsible for:
- 1,700 deaths (most due to drunk driving)
- 599,000 injuries
- 696,000 physical assaults
- 97,000 sexual assault
Additionally, students who drink are more likely to miss class, fail tests, get into arguments, commit vandalism, and engage in risky sexual behaviors.
Helping Your Student Make Wise Choices about Alcohol
Adopting an out-of-sight, out-of mind attitude about your student’s drinking can be dangerous. The U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention shares some proven tips for parents to help their students make safe, informed decisions about alcohol.
- Starting in your child’s senior year of high school when you begin touring campuses, take note of whether there seems to be a “party atmosphere” on campus. Look for an overabundance of alcohol advertisements, campus bars, and telltale signs that parties have recently taken place.
- Ask campus administrators about alcohol policies and how stringently they’re enforced. Also ask what their parental notification policies are. These policies ensure you’ll be notified if your child is in distress or gets in trouble with alcohol, even if they’re over 18.
- Don’t regale your kids with stories of your college drinking days – this will send mixed messages. Instead, reinforce that college is about getting an education and academic achievement, not partying.
- Once your student is on campus, you can join the school’s campus-community coalition. These teams consist of campus and community representatives, students, and parents who work together to prevent high-risk and illegal student drinking.
- Most important, stay involved in your child’s life, even when she is off at school. Ask about her classes and friends, especially during the first few weeks of college when she’s making the adjustment to campus life (and most at-risk of making bad decisions about drinking). Research shows that the more engaged you are with your student, the less likely she is to abuse alcohol.
Using your influence to help your child avoid the heavy drinking pitfalls that affect so many college students will enable your student to get the most out of her college experience. Being aware of her environment, being a positive role model, asking questions, and staying engaged – these are all things you’ve already done as a parent. Continuing to practice these same good behaviors once she leaves for college will show your student you still care and help her make healthy, smart choices about drinking.
Related Reading
Readers who found this article helpful may also be interested in reading College Student Alcohol Safety.
Parents Can Influence Students' Decisions
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