Parents can help prevent underage drinking during the holiday season

With Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other holidays just around the corner, it’s important to remember that while the holidays are a time for fun and celebration, they can also be a time of risk for young people.

On an average December day, more than 11,000 people in the United States aged 12 to 17 will use alcohol for the first time.

The risk that comes to most people’s mind is car crashes. And that is certainly cause for concern. In December 2013 alone, a staggering 733 people lost their lives in crashes involving a drunk driver, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In addition, compared with other age groups, teen drivers are at a greater risk of death in alcohol-related crashes, even though they’re too young to legally buy or possess alcohol, according to the NHTSA.

But car crashes aren’t the only risks for youth who drink.

Some of these young adults will not make it to the New Year, as nearly 400 people under age 21 die from alcohol-related causes every month, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Car crashes make up only about 44 percent of alcoholrelated deaths. The others include fires, falls and other kinds of accidents, suicide, and homicide, and alcohol poisoning.

When teens do drink, 90 percent of them binge drink, making all those causes of death far more likely. In fact, high school seniors in this region binge drink at a higher rate than other teens across the state, according to the 2016 Regional Needs Assessment put out by the Region 4 Prevention Resource Center.

Teachers, parents, guardians, families and communities must come together to prevent underage drinking during the holidays.

Before students are released for winter break, teachers can talk to their students about the dangers of underage drinking. Let students know that you care about them and you want to see all of them back after the New Year.

For parents, guardians and family members, if you have alcohol in your house, lock it up. A contributing factor to underage drinking during the holidays is that many students are left home alone while adults still have to work. Don’t let alcohol be accessible to minors.

Parents also need to talk to their kids about the dangers of underage drinking. Teens report that parents are the No. 1 influence on their choice to drink or not. Impaired brain development, alcohol-related injuries, risk for physical and sexual assault and the cost of a minor in possession charge are just a few of the other consequences.

Have an exit plan established if your child finds themselves at a holiday party that has alcohol and they start to feel unsafe or need an alternate way home. Make sure your child knows where you stand on underage drinking, and that they can always trust and call you if they need to be picked up. Make sure you know your kid’s friends and their parents. Ask other parents about their rules on underage drinking to ensure your child isn’t going to a friend’s house where they will be served alcohol.

And when it comes to community members, make sure you are doing your part to prevent underage drinking, even if you don’t have kids.

If you work at a business that sells or serves alcohol, make sure everyone is properly checking IDs and not selling alcohol to minors.

If you’re at a holiday function and there’s alcohol and minors, make sure the adults know the dangers of underage drinking and are not serving those underage.

The holidays are supposed to be a fun and lighthearted time with family. Let’s all help make sure they stay that way by doing our part to prevent underage drinking and its consequences.