What to Do When Your Teenager Drinks

Among the many nightmares that parents encounter is catching your teenager has been drinking. This might have happened when you smell alcohol on their breath after they came home from a date. Or possibly it's actually catching them drinking at a party, or in your basement Sometimes another mother or father will contact you saying they caught your teen drinking with theirs. It could even be the horrible situation where you are contacted by the police who have captured your kids drinking, or even worse drinkingand driving. When you learn that your child has been drinking it can elicit several distinct responses. Some teen parents are afraid and confused. "How could Bobby have started consuming alcohol? I thought this was a nurturing home". Others are indignant. "I TOLD Will what would happen to him if I found him with alcohol!" And others encounter denial. "It must be Tammy's friends. They're the ones at fault!"

But irrespective of the reaction, once you find out that your child is a drinker it's time to put being afraid, indignant, or acting as if it isn't happening away and start working on with the issue. The first action is to develop a plan. The plan is composed of 3 different parts: when, what and follow-through.

When

The when means that you act once your plan is determined AND you are ready to confront them. You don't want to have your confrontation with your teen when your emotions are out of control. It is crucial you deal with them in a rational manner. The same goes for their state of mind. Don't deal with them if they are drunk or high. Wait until they sleep it off. After you wait their emotional reaction will be something you can deal with.

But although you do want to wait for the "right moment" to speak to your teen, you also shouldn't wait too long. You ought to plan on having your dialogue with them within 1 day of your finding out.

What

Your next task is to create your plan of what you are going to say and do. In general this should fall in the following categories:

• Letting them know the rules and penalties of drinking. Particularly tell him or her the consequences they face today and the punishments they will receive if they break the new rules. For example, if the punishment is taking away the cell phone for 6 months you might tell them that if they do it again will add an additional 3 months to the losing their phone.
• Telling them that they are going to be carefully monitored. Frequent calls, stricter curfew restrictions, a GPS tracker on their auto and drug testing are all potential ways to more strictly monitor their activities.
• Tell them the help they are going to receive for their drinking problem. This may perhaps include one-on-one or group counseling. This can include a minor in possession class or minor in consumption class. Or perhaps visiting your church's pastor. Make sure they know this aspect isn't about punishment but about understanding the problem and helping to learn how to prevent it in the future.
• Telling them there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Tell them that you love them and this isn't a everlasting black mark on their record. If things go well you can once again have a joyful close family.

Follow Through

Finally, you need to plan your long-term goals What I mean is to make sure all you tell your child is something you are going to really do. Make sure you follow through on your steps once you tell them. And if you feel you need support, perhaps counseling such as an alcohol class will help.Parents need support to deal with hard circumstances such as these.