Page 165 - (DK) Help Your Kids with Growing Up: A No-Nonsense Guide to Puberty and Adolescence

AL C OHOL 163

Responsible drinking P ARENT TIPS

Practising responsible drinking helps teens and adults to stay safe. Encouraging responsible drinking
• Don’t make alcohol an off-limit conversation topic.
Aim to talk about alcohol openly with your teen,
preferably before they start drinking. Equally, If
Keep an eye on how much If you’re going out with there’s any history of alcohol dependency in the
you drink and know what friends, help each other family, share that information honestly.
your limit is. to stay safe.
• Banning your teen from drinking alcohol may make
it more appealing. Instead, it may be better to
recognize that your teen might want to drink,
but encourage them to do so sensibly.
Eat beforehand. Having a Drink soft drinks or water
full stomach delays how between alcoholic drinks. • Lead by example and drink responsibly yourself.
quickly alcohol is absorbed
into the bloodstream.

Never accept drinks from Never drink and drive. Alcohol
strangers. They may have impairs a person’s coordination
“spiked” your drink by adding and judgement.
drugs or a shot to it.

Make sure you watch your Say no if you feel you’ve
drink at all times, in case had enough. Everyone has △ Peer pressure
someone tampers with it. different limits, so don’t try Make sure your teen knows it’s okay to say “no”
to keep up with friends. to another drink if they feel they’ve had enough.

Long-term effects of drinking excessively
Regularly drinking alcohol in large quantities can have a long-term, negative impact
on a person’s mental and physical health, so it’s important to drink in moderation.

△ Brain △ Mouth △ Heart △ Liver △ Stomach
Alcohol can cause The effects of alcohol Alcohol increases Heavy drinkers Regularly drinking
anxiety, depression, range from bad breath blood pressure and are susceptible to large amounts can
low mood, and to mouth cancer. the heart rate, and the liver damage. cause diarrhoea
sleeplessness. risk of having a stroke. and heartburn.

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