The last Australian School Students Alcohol and Drug Survey was conducted in 2005. The survey found:

Almost 40% of teenagers got their last alcoholic drink from their parents 10% of 12 year-olds had consumed alcohol in the week before the survey – This had increased to 49% by the time they were 17 30% of 15 years olds & 44% of 17 year olds were binge drinking (7+ drinks for males, 5+ drinks for females) in the past week 25% of parents thought it acceptable to provide 15- 16 yr olds alcohol at a supervised party.

These are rather alarming statistics now that we have the research. Alcohol appears to damage more severely the frontal areas of the adolescent brain, crucial for controlling impulses and thinking through consequences of intended actions.

Teenagers appear to be more sensitive to the learning and memory problems that can be caused by alcohol. They are more likely than adults to suffer from lack of judgment and memory loss.

Alcohol has a powerful impact on the ability to form new memories, particularly for facts and events. Short-term or moderate drinking can impair learning and memory far more in youth than in adults. Adolescents need only drink half as much as adults to suffer the same negative effects.

For more information visit these websites:

A parent’s guide to the teen brain
Why 21?
Alcohol and adolescent development

Tips for Parents:

keep yourself informed – new research is very compelling under 18′s should avoid alcohol it is not OK to give under age teenagers alcohol it is against the law to give other people’s underage teenagers alcohol create a community of like minded parents not “everyone’s” parents are providing alcohol set an example – walk the talk know what is going on in your teenager’s lives know their whereabouts check that gatherings and parties are being supervised and no alcohol is being served.

Remember, you are not alone. Other parents of teenagers are most likely facing the same issues. Share your concerns as well as what has worked for you when dealing with teenagers and alcohol. If you don’t agree with underage drinking (hopefully the new scientific proof has convinced you) then voice your opinion to other parents. You will find that many agree but are afraid to say so for fear of being ‘uncool’.

The physical and mental well being of your teenagers is paramount. When the circle of parents of your teenagers friends can agree on safe, responsible behaviour then you will create a safe, strong structure for them to socialize in.

Ultimately we, as parents, want our children to grow into confident, courageous and compassionate young adults.

Now, teenage drug addiction bothers many parents, for drug abuse is harmful and teenagers are likely to get into addiction. Since adolescence is a period of transition and growing up, teenagers are curious about any new things and they are easy to experiments. When parents realize that their children have drug problems and must find treatment, they frequently do not know where to turn. Some information is available here.

First of all, parents should face the fact. Teenagers are accessible, and they can access new “drugs” every day. The children are curious and they are vulnerable. Therefore, when your children get into drug addiction, do not think it is unacceptable and shameful. Instead, you should squarely face it and take some steps to help them get rid of addiction.

It is essential for parents to help the children get through this hard time. As parents, you can do lots to help your children. You can offer guidance to them and let them know that it is safe to come and talk to you. It is not wise to abandon them at this time. Right now, what they need is a strong parent.

The most important thing parents can do is trying to communicate openly with teens and encourage them to talk about anything that they are experiencing. People who realize they get into this dangerous habit may be too embarrassed or afraid to tell. They might even be worried that they will land into trouble if they admit to have this problem. Abusers need someone trustworthy to talk to. It’s important not to storm into their room and start going through their clothes or dragging them off to the doctor for a blood test on suspicion that they are using drugs, which may make your children keep away from you and get the situation worse.

Making teenagers aware of the damages the drug addiction causes is very important. Many teenagers get into addiction just because of their curiosity to new things. They may not know the drug substances and the harm these substances cause at all. Parents should make efforts to let the children know drug addiction is harmful to health, mind and society. When they know well this drug addiction, it may be easy for them to quit it.

In addition, you can take many other ways to help your children get rid of drug, such as detoxification and residential rehabilitation. Detoxification is for adolescents who need safe, medically supervised relief from withdrawal symptoms when they first enter a rehabilitation program. Residential rehabilitation is for teens who cannot stop using drugs without 24 hour supervision. In a residential rehab program, these teens can learn and practice new skills that will help them in recovery.

Aftercare is a very important part in recovery, and it can help teens to maintain a drug free lifestyle. After your children quit this addiction, continue to support and encourage them.

As any parent knows, the reality of life is such that most people will overindulge in alcohol at one time or another during their teenage years.

However, heavy drinking, and binge-drinking for the sole purpose of getting drunk can be harmful to a teenager’s physical and mental health. For this reason, many experts continue to be alarmed by teenagers’ attitudes towards alcohol consumption.

Many teenagers begin drinking before they are legally allowed to do so. Alcohol can have many negative effects on the body, especially when the body in question is not fully developed. As well as being damaging to health, consumption of alcohol also impairs judgment, which could lead teenagers to do things they normally wouldn’t.

There are more alcohol-related teenage deaths than deaths for all other drugs combined.

Alcohol is unique in its situation because, although it is a drug, and can cause just as much damage to health as illegal drugs, it is socially accepted.

Parents may in fact be relieved that their son or daughter is consuming alcohol, rather than any harder drugs. However, the reality is that alcohol consumption is fraught with danger.

Any problems or strong emotions that a teenager has to deal with can be made worse by alcohol. It is a depressant, so can increase negative or positive feelings, depending on a teenager’s original mood.

As well as being a danger to themselves, teenagers who have been drinking can also be a danger to the communities they inhabit. Loutish or rowdy behavior caused by alcohol, as well as violence, can ruin the atmosphere of a community.

Additionally, most parties that teens go to have alcohol on site, either provided by hosts, or brought in by other teens. Teens, both boy and girls don’t have the experience to know when they’ve had too much to drink, and in many cases, they drink with the sole purpose of getting drunk.

These sort of behaviors is a common cause of things like Date Rape, fighting, and of course drink driving, one of the biggest causes of fatal accidents, can put many people’s lives in danger.

In fact, given that drinking slows reaction speed, as well as being more likely to crash, a drunk person may in fact have a slightly lower chance of getting seriously injured compared to the other driver, because their muscles will not tense and remain rigid during the crash.

The key to reduce teenage alcohol consumption is education. By educating teenagers about the dangers of alcohol consumption, including drink-driving, depression, and other ill-effects to mental, date rape and physical well being, we hopefully may see a reduction in instances of teenage drinking though it is unlikely.

Because of the ease most teenagers have in obtaining alcohol, it can be regarded as the most dangerous drug of all. Parents with the attitude of ‘Well I’d rather have them drink here where I can supervise them.’ is a joke.

I was a teen once upon a time, and every party I ever went too that had alcohol, and they all did – where the alcohol was provided by the parents, never had the parents supervision anyone.

They stayed upstairs, comfortable that they were being responsible because the kids where in the house and not out driving around.

Wake up parents – you can’t do this and expect to change the behavior of your teens.

The tumultuous group of adolescents consists of twenty percent of the population. These adolescents come from family backgrounds that are not stable. There is often a history of mental illness in the family; the parents have marital conflicts; and the families have more economic difficulties. The moods of these adolescents are not stable and they are more prone to depression. They have significantly more psychiatric disturbances, and they only do well with the aid of intense psychotherapy. They do not grow out of it. It is in the tumultuous growth group that chemical dependency often develops.

Adolescents almost always use alcohol or drugs the first time under peer pressure. They want to be accepted and be a part of the group. Children are likely to model after the chemical use of their parents. Children with alcoholic parents are at greater risk of becoming chemically dependent.

Practitioners seeking to develop effective treatment strategies for chemically dependent adolescents confront a literature which is overwhelming in volume and confusing and contradictory in content.

Chemically dependent adolescents gradually change their peer group to include drinking and drug using friends. Chemical dependency halts emotional development. To develop normally, a person must learn to use their feelings to give them energy and direction for problem solving.

Ironically, chemically dependent people commonly see themselves only as regular users. Then, when they misuse and experience some consequences, they attempt to control their intake for a time. Then they misuse again. This back and forth pattern is a common symptom of the last stage. All the while, each symptom found in misuses becomes more serious.

It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to arrest chemical dependency without such a crisis. But knowing the warning signs can make it possible for users and the people who care about them to take action — before addiction destroys their lives.

The Center for Behavioral Medicine’s Adolescent Recovery Services reflects a unique understanding of the varied and complicated problems facing chemically dependent and dual diagnosed teenagers and their families.

What happens to teens when their drug use becomes progressively more frequent and addictive? This list of behaviors, which are typically seen in a teen who is becoming addicted to drugs, can help parents discover if their teen has a true addiction to one or more substances.Here are list of web-sites you feel free to go:

http://www.restoringtroubledteens.com/

http://www.restoretroubledteens.com/

http://www.troubledteensguide.com

They help adolescents (ages 13-18) recognize their addiction to alcohol and/or drugs as a disease that requires lifestyle changes for recovery. Dual-diagnosed teens, who struggle with the accompanying mental health problems, receive specialized, integrated care to overcome both challenges.

A free assessment can be scheduled to determine the service best suited to the patients’ needs. Available programs for chemical dependency include:

INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT THERAPY, which allows students to continue in their home school and attend therapeutic activities, individual, group and family therapy during the evening.

PARTIAL HOSPITALIZATION allows patients to be at home during the evening to work on what they learn during the day in the therapeutic environment, which includes school, individual, group and family therapy and therapeutic activities.

Adolescent Recovery Services is our most intensive intervention for inpatients. If an assessment indicates that a patient needs to be in Adolescent Recovery Services, once admitted, our first priority is to determine if detoxification is necessary. Also during this evaluation period, we gather information allowing us to pinpoint the progression of the addiction on the continuum of chemical dependency. The next step is to identify the teen’s patterns of alcohol and other drug use and determine contributing factors, such as emotional, behavioral and physical problems, as well as family concerns.