Is your teenage kid partying with alcohol?
Your teenager needs to party because parties and social gatherings help your teenager learn social skills, communicate effectively, cope with the society and develop self-confidence. While they enjoy partying, we need to communicate with them and set ground rules as parents to see that they are safe and sound.
Communicating with your teenagers
Communicating with your teenager before they attend a party is vital because they can be drawn to alcohol because of friends, peers or the commercials. You need to be patient during the communication because most of them have not yet matured to communicate properly and they might end up saying something they don’t mean. Try not to take it personally and avoid engaging in conflicts or arguments with them. Patient listening comes a long way in establishing trustful bonds between you and you teenager. Allow them to express themselves by showing genuine interest.
Teenagers always listen to people whom they trust. Make building trust in them, the most primary agenda of the conversation and try to explain your teenager, the possible nuances associated with alcohol consumption and substance abuse that could land them in various forms of trouble. Educate them on ways to being safe at parties and social gathering and promise to have their back always.
Your own attitude and behaviour towards alcohol consumption makes a lot of difference in whether your teen is going to follow your suggestions or not. Therefore, it is important to behave like a role model and avoid hypocrisy with them. Also, equip them with the tact of developing strategies to save themselves during crisis.
Set ground rules before sending them to a party
Make your teenager understand that their family works in a particular way and he/she has to abide by such rules. Set ground rules before sending them to parties. Rules such as the time of return, number of pegs, member to associate with and people to contact to crisis. Setting rules does not mean you need to be harsh. Work in collaboration with them and explain them the reasons why you came to certain decisions about their partying.
Factors to consider before allowing them to party
- Knowing the venue of the party. Enquiring whether it is a safe hub for partying.
- Knowing that they are with their friends and not strangers
- Calling the other children’s parents to keep in touch
- Calling the host and enquiring about the safety of your child.
- Making consequences of breaking rules and sticking to them
- Rewarding the good behaviour pf your child and amending the rules as they mature.
Helping your child to balance fun and safety
Apart from communicating with your child about alcohol and its negative effects, it is vital to educate them on possible sexual assaults that happen after accidental spiking of their drinks or voluntary binge drinking. Equipping them with the knowledge of follow up actions is quintessential to make sure they are going to be safe. On the whole, teenage is an age of fun and joy and vulnerability too. Helping them to balance fun and safety during this period is the basic duty as a parent and comes along way in cognitive and emotional development of your child.
In case you feel your teenager is sexually assaulted, do not forget to report in the police and get an appropriate treatment.
Phoenix Rehab is equipped with an excellent team of female counsellors who are adept at understanding and resolving issues related to rape and teenage assault. Feel free to contact Phoenix rehab if need be.
Wishing you a fun-filled, joyous holiday season and a Happy New year 2021.
