School

PARENT TRAP page 132

they will be home, and that
no alcohol or other drugs
will be available.
• Make sure you know
when the party will be over,
when your teen will be
home, and how they will be
getting home.
• Discuss possible situa-
tions in which the teen
should call home for a
ride— i.e. driver has been
drinking or doing drugs.
Students Against Drunk
Driving (SADD), which offi-
cially opposes underage
drinking, advocates a signed
contract between parents
and teens. The teen promis-
es to call home for a ride if
he or she does drink or is
with someone who is drink-
ing. The parent promises to
pick them up without ask-
ing any questions at the
time.
• Discuss ways for a teen
to refuse alcohol or drugs if
they are offered.
• Make contingency plans
with your teen for parties
that are out of control.
Teens are reluctant to call
911 for fear of getting
friends into trouble with the
police; so impress upon
them the importance of call-
ing home.
• Stay awake until your
teen gets home, and ask
about the party. If your teen
is sleeping over at a friend's
house after a party, call the
friend's parent to confirm
arrangements. ❑

OUR SUPER FALL LINE-UP IS ALREADY PLANNED
THAT'S WHY OUR SCHOOL IS IN SUCH DEMAND

SO...DON'T FORGET TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT
GREAT PROGRAMS AND STAFF IS WHAT WE'VE GOT

FOR INFORMATION ON THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS: "PARENT-TODDLER" • "MOVIN' ON
UP" • NURSERY SCHOOL • KINDERGARTEN • "KINDERGARTEN CLUB" • ENRICHMENT
PROGRAM • EXTENDED DAY-CARE

DEFINING
THE PROBLEM

Please call Bryna Leib, Director 661-5700

O

IACEICEEE
ENP52.2E
m®® ®

5725 WALNUT LAKE ROAD, WEST BLOOMFIELD, MICHIGAN 48323

(313) 661-5700 • FAX: (313) 661-1302

Eat less
saturated
fats.

WERE FIGHTING FOR
YOUR LIFE

L

American Heart
Association

}

f course, alcohol is not
present at every teen
party, but don't be lulled
into thinking it is rare, or
that your teenager won't
drink because he or she is a
class leader, a star athlete
or a member of a religious
youth group. Even some-
thing as seemingly harm-
less as watching videos in a
rec room can, and often
does, involve alcohol dis-
creetly smuggled into the
house.
How bad is it? In recent
national surveys, nearly a
third of high school seniors
reported that most or all of
their friends were getting
drunk at least once a week.
Half of teens between the
ages of 15 and 19 claimed
that, in the past three
months, they had found
themselves in situations
where alcohol was present.
The consequences are
tragic. More than three mil-
lion American teen-agers
are alcoholics, and alcohol-
related traffic accidents are

the major killer of young
people between the ages of
15 and 25.

Why do they do it?

Teens drink because of peer
pressure, stress, boredom,
or simply because they like
the "buzz." Socializing
seems less awkward after
two or three beers; asking a
pretty girl to dance or talk-
ing to a top athlete doesn't
seem so scary or impossible.
How do they get it? "It's
really easy," says a pretty
teenage girl. "Everybody
knows which liquor stores to

More than three
million American
teen-agers are
alcoholics, and
alcohol-related
traffic accidents
are the major
killer of young
people between
the ages of 15
and 25.

use. You just go up to some-
one standing outside and
give them five dollars to buy
you beer, or you get an older
sister or brother to buy it."
Always a problem on the
college level, fake I.D.s now
have moved into the high
school market, enabling
teens to buy the alcohol,
themselves.

Where do they drink?

The homes of friends and
acquaintances are the most
convenient drinking spots.
Popular drinking games
include chug-a-lug, quarters
(flip a coin into a glass of
beer and your opponent
must drink the beer), chan-
delier (a multi-player game
similar to quarters) and the
infamous funnel.
Beyond that, drinking
takes place at field parties
(teens circle their cars in an
open field); dance clubs that
admit minors; and ware-
houses— the infamous
RAVE parties that combine
techno music, a laser show
and alcohol.
Fortunately, there's been
some progress in the area of
drinking in automobiles,
thanks largely to the pro-
grams of SADD and to
teens' own designated-dri-
ver efforts. Teens say their
designated drivers take the
responsibility very seriously
but that girls are more com-
mitted to the concept than
the boys, who still tend to
regard driving after drink-
ing as a macho thing to do. ❑