Teens Do Not Fear The Problems That Come With Alcohol

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 27.6 percent of 12- to 20-year-olds in the U.S. consumed alcohol in the past month. The report showed that New England and the upper Midwest are areas of the country where underage drinking is extremely high. Underage drinking has had a hand in the deaths of many teenagers every year form drunk driving accidents. Naively, teens do not fear the problems that come with alcohol like they do the problems associated with drugs; this misconception is a large reason why teen continue to drink. The research is out there, we now know the serious health problems that accompany alcohol; yet, today's youth does not seem to heed the warnings for one reason or another.

Another major concern with underage drinking is the development of alcoholism at a young age. Countless people come into this world with a predisposition to drink alcohol that they inherited from someone in their family tree. The younger a person is when problems like these come to the surface, the harder it will be to quit when the time comes. There is no age limit to being an alcoholic; the disease of alcoholism does not discriminate. Alcoholism at a young age can be very difficult to discern, for some parents, the idea that their child could have an alcohol problem is unfathomable. Parents need to be vigilant and keep tabs on their children's activity so that if there is a problem it can be dealt with sooner rather than later. Ask Questions!

Federal Data:

• underage drinking rates were highest in North Dakota (40.6 percent) and Vermont (40.4 percent)
• underage drinking rates were lowest in Utah (13.7 percent)
• 8.6 percent of underage drinkers were able to purchase their own alcohol, 18.8 percent in Louisiana and the District of Columbia
• Underage drinkers in Alaska (3.1 percent) and New Mexico (3.7 percent) were the least likely to report buying their own booze.

The best thing a parent can do is talk to their kids about the dangers of alcohol, find news stories to provide examples that children can understand. There is no question, parents are the first line of defense against underage drinking; kids will look for guidance and they certainly model what they witness at home. Take a Stand!

UCLA Study: Babies Exposed to Methamphetamine and Alcohol

Every year countless babies are born with defects or disorders as a result of the mothers actions during pregnancy. The substances a mother consumes, just like the food she eats, eventually finds its way to the fetus greatly increasing the chances of the baby having health problems. Extensive research has been done in the way of studies and experiments that prove that the effects of drugs and alcohol are monumental.

HealthDay News reported that a study done by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that babies exposed to methamphetamine and alcohol before birth have smaller caudate nucleus regions in the brain than non-exposed children or children exposed to alcohol only in the womb. What are caudate nucleus regions?

The caudate nucleus helps with:

• learning
• memory
• motor control
• motivation

Researchers who worked on the study compared and contrasted brain scans of 13 children exposed to alcohol in the womb, 21 children exposed to both methamphetamine and alcohol, and 27 children whose mothers did not use anything. "We know that alcohol exposure is toxic to the developing fetus and can result in lifelong brain, cognitive and behavioral problems," said researcher Elizabeth Sowell of the University of California at Los Angeles. "In this study, we show that the effects of prenatal meth exposure, or the combination of meth and alcohol exposure, may actually be worse. Our findings stress the importance of drug abuse treatment for pregnant women."

This information is not all that surprising, if alcohol is bad for a baby, then alcohol and meth would be terrible. Drugs and alcohol rob a child of their chances for success, babies need pollutant free environments to develop in; otherwise Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and, or, a sleuth of other health problems will result. There are many drug and alcohol treatment facilities that specialize in the recovery of pregnant addicts; any pregnant women that wants assistance getting clean, have the opportunity to give their baby a chance at life.

The findings were published March 17, 2010 in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Teaching Responsible Drinking, It Appears To Have The Opposite Effect

A new study has shown that parents providing alcohol for the teenagers at home may be the wrong thing to do. The study which was published in Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs claims that although parents may have good intentions by teaching responsible drinking, it appears to have the opposite effect on teenagers. There are some experts who claim that parents that drink with their teenage children are teaching them how to drink responsibly and that it will also limit the amount of alcohol outside of the home. The recent study conducted flies in the face of that line of reasoning.

Researchers worked with 428 Dutch families in order to conduct the study. The 428 families had two children between the ages of 13 and 15; they answered questionnaires on their drinking habits at the outset of the study and again one and two years later. The results showed that the more teenagers were allowed to consume alcohol at home, the more alcohol they would drink outside the home; in turn the children had a greater propensity for problems. The study also showed that children who drank under their parents' supervision had a heightened risk of encountering alcohol involved problems.

The idea that children will model their parent behavior when it comes to drinking is absolutely unfounded and untrue. The leader of the study Dr. Haske van der Vorst of Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands claims that the old belief was based off common sense and not scientific evidence. "For example, the thinking is that if parents show good behavior -- here, modest drinking -- then the child will copy it. Another assumption is that parents can control their child's drinking by drinking with the child, I would advise parents to prohibit their child from drinking, in any setting or on any occasion", said van der Vorst. The best way to promote responsible drinking is to limit the teenager's exposure, who children drink with or where children drink alcohol does not have the effect that doctors had once hoped.

Should Young Children be Involved in a Parent's Intervention?

I hope by now most of my readers have had a chance to watch Bret's story. There has been a lot written about Bret and his intervention involving his children. Should young children be involved in a parent's intervention? Obviously, every case is different and that needs to be taken into account by all interventionists attempting to help families of alcoholics.

Bret's teenage daughter Kelsey and younger son Kyle were present at Bret's televised intervention on A&E. The family and the interventionist agreed that having the children present could be very persuasive in helping Bret make the decision to go to treatment. Unfortunately, the children's pleas were relatively ineffective leaving them both angry and in tears. Many people watching this episode may feel like the children's involvement in the intervention was unnecessary and damaging to the children. However, children of alcoholics who are at a cognizant age are not strangers to the pain and suffering at the hands of their addicted parent. Kelsey and Kyle have dealt and are still dealing with the years of pain; unfortunately the children of addicts need to confront their parent in order to explain how their drinking deeply affects them. This is a sad but true reality, one that is rarely pretty but indeed necessary.

Without a doubt no one wants to see a child suffering and seeing a show that deals with the sickness of drug and alcohol addiction is never pleasant to watch. We need to keep in mind that the interventionists, like Ken Seeley, know what they are doing and if there was ever a point where the children's safety was in jeopardy they would have been pulled away from danger. Interventions can be a trial and error event; many different avenues of techniques need to be attempted when trying to convince someone they need treatment. Ultimately, it was not Bret's children that got him into treatment; but, I believe the children's role was ever so crucial, not only for Bret but also the children. Kelsey and Kyle are two very strong children who wanted and were allowed to participate in their father's intervention that relieved Bret of his dependency long enough for him to die a sober individual. Those last days that they were able to spend with their Dad were ever so precious and probably worth a hundred interventions.

I encourage you to comment on whether children should be present at an intervention. If you are struggling with questions of how to do an intervention for your loved one, call Hope by the Sea...

P.S. A Jury recommended a sentence of life in prison for Jesse James Hollywood.