Drinkwise
  • DRINKING & YOU
    • Useful topics
      • Facts about drinking
      • Alcohol & your health
      • Support services
      Featured articles
      Is there such a thing as safe drink driving?
      Featured articles
      Is your drinking out of control?
      Featured articles
      Standard drinks calculator
  • PARENTS
    • Useful topics
      • Facts for parents
      • Tips for parents
      • Pregnancy
      • Support for parents
      Featured articles
      Binge drinking and your teen
      Featured articles
      Surviving Schoolies: how to keep your teen safe
      Featured articles
      Let them try it or deny it? Alcohol and your teen
  • UNDER 18s
    • Useful topics
      • Know the facts
      • Health effects of alcohol
      • Youth support services
      • Underage drinking
      • Tips for safe drinking
      Featured articles
      Alcohol & your health
      Featured articles
      Walking on the edge – the risks of binge drinking.
      Featured articles
      Behind the wheel: the dangers of drink driving
  • OUR WORK
    • Useful topics
      • Campaigns
      • About
      • Labels
      • Media
      • Research
      • Resources
      Featured articles
      Australian Drinking Habits: 2007 vs 2017
      Featured articles
      Parental influence campaign
      Featured articles
      DrinkWise Board of Directors
    Or try a quick search
  • Standard drinks calculator
  • Support services
  • Alcohol and your health
  • Drink driving
  • Binge drinking
  • Effects of alcohol on pregnancy
  • Talking to kids about alcohol
  • Parents
  • Teens
    • Sorry, we couldn't find anything…
    Information Setting family rules around alcohol

    One of the greatest challenges that parents can face is setting boundaries and establishing rules for their teenage children around drinking alcohol.

    What messages is your child picking up from your drinking behaviour?

    Alcohol plays a different role in every Australian family – from the way parents choose to drink or not drink, to the different rules and boundaries set in place for teenage drinking. Although these differences may seem confusing or confrontational, they can be used to your advantage by discussing differences in attitudes with your teen. This makes for an influential and informed discussion – much better than a dry lecture about the rights and wrongs of alcohol.

    What’s important to remember is that your teens will watch how you behave, how much you drink and your attitude to alcohol. They will also observe the boundaries you set in place for yourself – ensuring one parent is designated driver for the evening, never drinking on an empty stomach etc.

    Useful tips

    • It is a good idea to have this conversation as parents first to ensure you develop a common parenting approach to teen drinking.
    • Communicate your concerns about drinking at a young age. Discuss the risks involved and the impact on their physical, psychological and social health so they understand why you have created the rules that exist in your home.
    • Involve your teenager in the development of the rules. Set realistic and appropriate consequences and discuss them with your teen. Renegotiate rules as they become dated.
    • Reward good behaviour.
    • Inform other parents if you do not want your child to drink alcohol at parties. Make sure they understand your position. If they ask you, tell them the reason for your decision but respect that the rules and boundaries they choose to set for their children are not your business unless they directly affect your child.
    • Don’t be afraid to let your feelings known if another parent breaks the rules you’ve set for your child. They can be prosecuted as it’s against the law in some states to provide alcohol to your child without your consent.
    • Create a united voice with the parents of other teens. Open communication with other concerned parents could make a big difference to the influence you have on your teens – if a group of you agree on a set of rules it’s going to carry more weight.
    • But if others don’t agree, don’t be afraid to go it alone. The main thing is that your motivation is to keep them safe and healthy. They will be more accepting if they understand your reasoning.

     

    DrinkWise - Kids and Alcohol Don't Mix brochure
    Tags
    • parents
    Was this article helpful?
    You already voted!
    Share this
    Share on Facebook Tweet Email
    You may also like

    DrinkWise videos for education programs

    DrinkWise has created a series of videos for school and community programs, to educate and build individual capacity to make informed decisions about alcohol.

    • campaign
    • campaigns
    • drinking culture
    • Effects of alcohol on pregnancy
    • FASD
    • fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
    • health
    • Indigenous
    • kids
    • legal drinking age
    • parental influence
    • parents
    • pregnancy
    • pregnant
    • resources
    • role models
    • teens

    Pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding?

    Give your baby the best possible start and avoid the risks of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, you should not drink alcohol. If you are breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is safest for your baby.

    • breastfeeding
    • Effects of alcohol on pregnancy
    • facts
    • FASD
    • fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
    • parents
    • pregnancy
    • pregnant

    Mamamia’s five types of teenagers. Which one is yours?

    There are a series of subtle changes that begin to emerge in your pre-teen, marking the official end of childhood…

    • parents
    • support
    • teens

    DELAY 5 Point Plan for parents

    Talking to kids about alcohol and setting the boundaries and expectations to keep them safe can be a daunting task. DrinkWise has developed a 5 Point Plan to provide practical advice on how to be a positive influence and delay your child’s introduction to alcohol.

    • Delaying teen drinking
    • help
    • parents
    • teens
    • b
    • a
    • r
    • About Us
      • About
      • Contact
      • Media Releases
      • Labels
    • Tools
      • Standard drinks calculator
      • Alcohol & your health
      • Resources
    • Quicklinks
      • Binge drinking
      • Drink driving
      • How to drink properly
      • Get the facts
    • Drinkwise Australia

      Level 2, 232 York Street
      South Melbourne VIC 3205

      Phone: +61 3 9682 8641
      Email: info@drinkwise.org.au


    © 2021 Drinkwise Australia
      • Sitemap
      • Terms of Use & Privacy Policy
    • b
    • a
    • r
    © 2021 Drinkwise Australia