Why do teenagers drink is a common question asked by many moms and dads. This is a typical problem for parents with their adolescents. And it doesn’t just happen with troubled teens.
There are several contributing factors that leads to why teens drink. It’s helpful to know more about these factors in order to grasp a better understanding of this issue. Knowledge is a way to enlighten parents to the causes and prevention of the problem.
Some Adolescents Drink Due to Family Problems
The most important place for teens to feel safe is their homes wherein they can grow into responsible adults. However, the home can also be a factor in the reasons that teenagers drink. Both extremes in parenting styles may be the cause. Which means being too lenient or too strict can contribute to the causes of teenage drinking since extremes of control can have a damaging effect on them. And when these young ones see the older people drinking excessively, they are more likely turn to drinking also.
Apart from these reasons, adolescents who witness their parents fighting and verbally abusing each other can add to the problem. This can have a great impact on their mental state. When this happens, they may seek solace in alcohol. It’s a way for them to forget about their problems within their own homes.
Teenagers Drink Alcohol Due to Peer Pressure
Another contributing factors is peer pressure. At this age, peer respect is highly valued especially where there are insecurities about their personality or fitting in with a group of friends that are important to them. They turn to drinking in order to be part of this group or perhaps to be considered cool.
Moreover, when there are problems at home, they may be feeling stressed out. This can lead them to give in more easily to peer pressure which might include drinking of alcoholic beverages. This can temporarily let them feel stronger and in control of the situation. Or forget it all for a while.
Building a Positive Home Environment
In order to decrease the chances of this type of acting out behavior, it’s vital to keep your home environment a safe place for them. It’s important to keep in mind that during this stage, most teens are highly sensitive and take things very personally. Adolescence is a difficult but necessary phase of personal growth that can affect their mental and emotional state. And when you add alcoholic drinks to the mix, it can result to alcohol dependency or addiction.
These are some of the contributing factors to teenagers drinking. But even under the best of circumstance, your kids may experiment which can easily get out of control. It can be beneficial to learn as much as you can about teenagers and alcohol consumption. This way; you can fully comprehend what your teen is going through and what you can do to help prevent it.