A leading health expert has urged parents in Western Australia to communicate with their children better about alcohol. Now more than ever before alcohol problems and binge drinking are an issue plaguing WA youth, they are drinking from a younger age and doing so with the intention of getting drunk. Now health experts are advising parents to talk to their children about alcohol to help alleviate some of these issues.
Apparently parents that talk to their children about alcohol can positively influence their drinking behaviour and choices, according to Mike Daube, the director of the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth. According to Mike Daube, parents are vitally influential in their children’s lives. Parents who question how much they can really do to help their teenagers when it comes to alcohol problems should be aware that talking to your children about alcohol and drugs actually does have an impact on their behaviour.
But the Professor warns that it isn’t only what parents say that matters, what they do is just as important. Parents need to understand that they set the most important example. If children see their parents abusing alcohol, they are likely to follow this example.
This post from WAtoday.com.au explains:
“There are two things that matters – it’s what parents say and do. If parents keep finding ways to talk with them and show the way by example – children will be much more likely to pay attention.”
John Rogerson, CEO of the Australian Drug Foundation, said working with parent groups had revealed more information was needed to help parents broach the conversation.
To mark Drug Action Week on Monday, the ADF released a new website to help parents talk openly with their children about alcohol and drugs.
“Drugs are often still a taboo subject within families. We want to make it easier for parents to feel comfortable enough to initiate the conversation about alcohol and drugs, and feeling informed is a big part of that,” Mr Rogerson said.
Professor Daube said WA had one of the worst youth-drinking cultures in the country, which was why it was so important for parents to be involved.
The tip of the iceberg is that every day in WA, one child under the age of 18 years is so drunk that someone has to call an ambulance,” he said.
The Professor goes on to warn that youths who fell under the most concerning bracket were found to be pre-loading and going out and getting drunk. Pre-loading is a problematic practice whereby people load up on alcohol at home before heading out on the town in an effort to save money and get more drunk.
The Professor also said that the way alcohol is being advertised is promoting it to youth like never before, which is why parent’s need to take an even more active role in their children’s lives. Professor Daube said WA had a “very significant problem” when it came to underage drinking and parents need to act in order to have a positive effect on their children.