Parents in the Dark - Part 3

For more, see: Part 1, and Part 2


A national survey finds parents are in the dark about their teens' exposure to alcohol and drugs.


What's Really Going On With Teens

Here's a few excerpts from the article:

"WASHINGTON — Parents drastically underestimate their teenage children's exposure to and use of drugs and alcohol, according to survey results released Thursday by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Eighty percent of parents surveyed said they did not think alcohol or marijuana were usually available at the parties their teens attended, the study found. But half of teens who attended at least one party a month said they went to events where alcohol, drugs or both were present."

Why are parents so unaware? I imagine it is not a simple answer. One factor is the manner in which most parents choose to educate their children. Sending children to school limits parent child interaction. It is easier to miss subtle signs of trouble, if you only see your children a few minutes a day. A busy schedule, always rushing from one place to another, puts parents at a disadvantage.

"Ninety-nine percent of parents surveyed said they would not allow their teen to serve alcohol at a party, but 28% of teen partygoers said they had attended events where parents were home and teenagers were drinking."

"And, by age 17, 46% of teen partygoers said they had been to at least one party where drinking and the use of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, Ecstasy and prescription medications, occurred while a parent was there."

This reminds me of the phrase, "lights on but nobody is home."


"The findings showed almost no difference in drug exposure or abuse between boys and girls or among teens living in urban, suburban and rural areas."

Some parents are lulled into a false sense of security because they live in a "safe" neighborhood. There is no such place. So, there is no substitute for parental supervision. That supervision is harder to provide when parents aren't backing each other up.

I know someone who went out of town and allowed their teenage daughter to throw a New Year's Eve party while they were gone. These were nice people in a good neighborhood, but I had to ask myself, "What were they thinking?"

This brings me back to that whole "socialization" thing. Putting minor children in groups all day with little adult supervision sounds like a receipe for disaster. This is a weakness of any school system; children spend too much time with their peers and not enough actively involved with adults.


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Related Tags: teen drug use, teen drinking, teen parties, parents, teenagers