PARENTING TOPIC: How Much Alcohol Could YOUR Child Drink?

According to a major study on drinking, binge drinking among youth is a major problem. The study (University of Michigan, Monitoring the Future, 2012) found that some college students have imbibed more alcohol in one sitting than the average person could probably imagine.

Specifically, the study found that 14% of college students drank at least 10 or more drinks in a row in the previous two weeks, while 5% of college students drank at least 15 or more drinks in a row during the same period. The study is interesting because, while alcohol consumption rates have actually decreased overall, there is still a segment of the college population that is significantly overdoing it.

I’m sure, if you’re a parent, that you’ve talked to your child about drinking. But perhaps the key isn’t to talk about drinking in general terms, but to highlight the danger in excessive drinking. Passing out, risky sex, drunk driving, and violent behaviors are just a few of the problems to worry about if someone takes in ten or fifteen drinks in a row.

When you hear about drinking rates like these ones, you really have to ask yourself what’s going on to motivate such extreme behavior. In many of the cases, it’s about a college kid either self-medicating negative feelings or trying to look cool in front of their peers. Yet whatever the reason may be for each child, the point is still the same: College kids desperately need caring adults to thoroughly discuss the issue with them!