DrinkWise partnered with the Mamamia Women’s Network to talk to parents and media personalities about their experiences with alcohol when they were young and how they talk to their kids about this often awkward topic.

We began by talking to them about their first experience with alcohol and why it’s different for kids these days. It all came down to peer pressure.

What is it about our culture that encourages bad attitudes to alcohol, like binge drinking? How young does it start? And now, so many years on has it gotten worse with platforms like Instagram and Facebook forever immortalising our drunken antics?

Here, Andrew Daddo, Andrew Rochford, Brigitte Duclos and Bern Morley share their (very) embarrassing first experiences with alcohol. In the words of Andrew Daddo, “It was mind numbingly dumb now that I look back – but at the time it seemed mind bending-ly smart.”

While reliving these experiences might be painful, it certainly seems to put a lot into perspective. After all, how much has really changed?

 

No one said it was going to be easy, but talking to your teen about alcohol is a conversation every family has to have.

When your kids reach a certain age and drinking becomes a potential reality, “It’s about opening the communication, but them knowing the consequences.”

But how do you start that often-awkward conversation?  Here, our guests discuss their tactics when it comes to this important discussion with their teens.

 

‘You’re still going to get in trouble. But we want you around to get in trouble.’  Think back to your first drink. Did you tell your parents about it?

We can bet that most of you would answer no — unequivocally. But as parents, the tables have now turned and it’s time to start having that conversation around drinking with your teens.

That was certainly the case for our guests.  Their no-holds-barred conversation gives us an insight into how they’re relating their own drinking experiences to their kids and on their different parenting techniques when it comes to handling that difficult discussion.

Parents — it’s a must watch, because when your kids inevitably reach this stage it helps to be prepared.

 

This content was originally published on Mamamia.com.au and is republished here with full permission.