As adults we are perfect content sitting with a glass or two of wine at the end of a long day to help us wind down. As teenagers, the thought of drinking a glass of wine to relax may seem like a waste of time, after all booze is used to get drunk, isn’t it?
After all, sipping wine at a party won’t give you the confidence boost you need to go talk to a boy or girl you like.
Teenagers today are partaking in a potentially deadly activity called binge drinking; binge drinking is drinking four or five drinks in a short span of time [for males] which can alter your teens perception on reality, and put them in harms way.
The legal drinking age is twenty one in this country, and the reason behind that is because those under the legal age aren’t sure how to drink responsibility.
Booze is something to be chugged, chased, and used to feel that boost of confidence, and euphoric feeling people get directly after taking a few shots with their friends on a Saturday.
Binge drinking can cause long term effects on teenagers, and those who are predisposition to alcoholism will feel it’s wrath fairly early on. Short term effects of drinking can be impaired judgment, and lack of interest in things like school, and other activities.If you’re child is binge drinking, they are not only putting themselves at risk, but those around them.How many times have you taught your kids the hazards of driving while intoxicated?
Long term affects of binge drinking can be depression, inability to function without a drink or two, suicidal thoughts, and mood swings.
With almost thirty percent of sophomores in high school admitting they have binged within the school year, it’s time we sat down with our kids.
If you’re not entirely sure what binge drinking is, we can help: For both males and females, binge drinking is when more than four drinks are consumed in an hour.
This is the exact opposite of drinking for pleasure; it’s drinking to get wasted and when people under the age of twenty one are drinking like this to get drunk, it’s a problem.
Binge drinking in high schoolers has gone down, but unfortunately once college looms the rate of binge drinking increases by almost forty percent.
If you can remember your own college days, they are probably quite a few memories of a keg of beer, right?
You probably even made some silly decisions because you got “too drunk” one night..with these memories in the back of your mind, it can be hard to tell our kids to refrain from drinking completely, but as parents, caregivers, and teachers it’s a must that we sit down and explain the difference between binge drinking, and having a few beers with friends.
If you think your child may have a problem with binge drinking, talk to him first, and bring up some of the short, and long terms of drinking…if he or she has a problem you may need to seek advice from a therapist, or rehab.
