relax. Drinking will only make things worse. Many teens drink because of peer pressure or just to fit in. Kids may think that if they drink then they will fit in with the crowd and become more popular. Kids spend most of their spare time partying. The kid who doesn't take something to drink has a dozen friends all over him. This may be true for the first couple of times that you drink, but it begins to become a habit and soon you are not only drinking at parties but also drinking alone and that is a sign you need help. Teens drink for the effect. To get high, to rebel, to alter their feelings of their environment, if only temporary. One of the main reasons kids drink for effect is the freedom it gives them. A problem of drinking for effect is whatever age the child is when he starts depending on the effect of alcohol, that's the age they are when they have overcome there drinking problem. In other words, when a child is fourteen and starts drinking to become more social and relaxed, when he is eighteen he will still be fourteen socially (Coffey, p.62). Many adults fail to take teenage alcohol problems seriously because they believe that their teens are too young to worry about. To them the word alcoholic makes them think of a malnourished person who lives on the street. Many young people live in families where the use of alcohol is a part of normal life. Many parents who are drinkers themselves look past teenage drinking. They see drinking as a normal activity and part of growing up. Children of alcoholics are a high-risk group for alcoholism (Claypool, p.46). They are more likely to follow in their parent's footsteps. Few parents encourage their child to drink, but few see nothing wrong with occasionally drinking. Some parents are relieved when teens drink rather than smoke pot or do other drugs. Only when adults start regarding alcohol as a toxic drug can an effective alcohol education program for America's youth begin. By the time s...
