Twelve Talks to
Have With Teens
Alcohol
Adults often feel that a little alcohol is harmless for teens.
However, underage alcohol use — particularly binge drinking — can lead to risky sexual behavior, use of other drugs, alcohol poisoning, and/ or violence.
70% of Jeffco 9th – 12th graders DO NOT drink alcohol regularly– and 60% of high school seniors DO NOT drink alcohol regularly (2019 Jeffco HKCS data).
Jefferson County youth report that when they drink, they usually drink “to get drunk” (2018 Youth Town Hall)
Over 4,300 young people die each year in the United States as a result of drinking alcohol. Additionally alcohol use in youth can:
- Negatively impact brain functions
- Increase likelihood of risky sexual behavior
- Increase risk of physical and sexual assault
- Increase risk of decision-making and memory problems
Alcohol is the most common “date rape” drug. Jefferson County youth report that sexual assaults almost always involve alcohol (2018 Youth Town Hall).
In Jefferson County, youth report three main sources of alcohol: taking it without permission from home, buying it off someone old enough to purchase it and being given alcohol by a parent or guardian (2018 Youth Town Hall).
Jefferson County youth report that drinking most often occurs in people’s homes with “chill” parents or when parents/guardians are out of town. When asked what “really happens” at parties, youth report binge drinking, use of multiple types of drugs, rape and fights as common occurrences (2018 Youth Town Hall).
Jefferson County High School Age Youth
Jeffco youth reporting use of substances in the past 30 days by 9th to 12th grade.
Healthy Kids Colorado Survey
Video: The workings of the adolescent brain
Open Ended Questions
Here are some open ended questions you can use to talk to your teen about alcohol:
- What would you consider to be too much to drink?
- What do you know about blacking out (cannot remember events) after drinking?
- I’m curious. Why do you think people drink? (If you know your teen drinks, ask what they get out of it.)
- What did you and your friends end up doing last night?
- What should happen to adults who supply alcohol to individuals who are under 21?
- What worries you most about teens your age drinking?
- Why do you think some people become more violent when they are drinking?
Conversation Starters
When you see advertisements for alcohol or are going past a bar or a store that sells alcohol, comment to your teen on the number or style of alcohol references in the area.
Share statistics about binge drinking with your teen. Ask them to define binge drinking. (Answer: 4 drinks for women/5 drinks for men.) (Source: Jefferson County 2023 Community Health Assessment)
Talk with your teen about friends and alcohol.
Ask yourself
Are you promoting alcohol to your teen? If you drink around your teen, be honest about your enjoyment — but avoid glamorizing it. Talk about how and why you limit the amount you drink.
Want to practice the conversation before you have it? Try out this conversation simulator from Be The Influence.
Does your teen know what to do if someone is experiencing an overdose of alcohol? Discuss alcohol poisoning and signs of an alcohol overdose.
Have you expressed your values clearly?
- Let your teen know that you do not approve of adults providing alcohol and other harmful substances to teenagers.
- Include discussions about parties in your conversations, such as how to handle alcohol or drugs, sexual advances, watching out for friends, and getting a ride home if their ride has been drinking or using other drugs.
- Be sure to tell your teen very directly (and even if it feels uncomfortable) that combining sex — of any type — with alcohol or other drugs is not acceptable. They should not have sex with someone who has been drinking or taking drugs, and they need to stop others from hooking up with someone who is intoxicated. No one can give consent if they have taken, or may have taken, any type of alcohol or drugs.
