Responsibility.org
Ralph Blackman is President and CEO of the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility. The Foundation has transformed countless lives through programs that contributed to significant reductions in drunk driving and underage drinking. Funded for more than 23 years by the nation’s leading distillers, they bring individuals, families and communities together to guide a lifetime of conversations around alcohol responsibility.
Whether we realize it or not, our parents are our first driving instructors. When we’re children, the moment our rear-facing car seat became a forward-facing one, we started watching, learning and adopting the habits of our parents. Think about how you drive: if one of your parents put their right hand on the back of the passenger side headrest when they were parallel parking, chances are good that as an adult you do that, too.
by Ellen Williams and Erin Dymowski
The scene is a mahogany-paneled courtroom with soft light filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The camera tightens up on a distraught mother, Rosie, in the witness box.
Lawyer: Who was watching your child at the barbecue?
Mother: All of us. There were lots of adults there. We all take care of the kids.
Lawyer: How much did you have to drink?
Mother: Three to four glasses of wine.
Lawyer: And you were breastfeeding?
We're gearing up for April, Alcohol Responsibility Month, with the launch of our new educational materials with Scholastic! We're sending materials from our Ask, Listen, Learn program featuring our partner, Classroom Champions, to over 25,000 classrooms around the country to help kids say NO to underage drinking through fun activities and classroom discussions!
Why do moms always talk about coffee and wine? Referencing the fact that talk of both beverages constantly fills up her Facebook feed, Kristen Schrotberger says she’s over the rampant liking of posts that reference the need for more coffee and wine.
Ban hard liquor as a means of addressing the culture of over consumption on the Dartmouth campus? Ask any beer pong player what they think. Seems to me they'll shrug their shoulders, make a face, and get on with the game.
When there are enticements and pressures to drink seemingly everywhere they look, and alcohol is not so hard to obtain isn't it not only normal but likely that teens will drink? Shouldn't we face that reality, and focus our energies on finding safe ways to help them experiment a little, in the hopes that this will prevent bigger problems down the road? Really, how much can we expect of teenagers?
The short answer: we can, and should, expect a great deal from teens.
In reference to the recent article, “New Study Suggests Alcohol TV Ads are Linked with Underage Drinking” I must express some dismay that the study’s authors never mention that long term trends by all measures of underage drinking are down significantly.
What better way to ring in the new year than by resolving to help our kids navigate the tough issues they face every day -- especially the issue of whether to drink underage or drive drunk. 2015 offers a TON of opportunities to talk with your kids about alcohol.Check out this great advice from Christine Koh on How to Start Tough Conversations.
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