Preventing underage drinking takes a village, so Communities That Care, Davis Behavioral Health, Bowman’s Market and Parents Empowered teamed up to kick-off underage drinking prevention efforts on Saturday, May 1st.
We talked with Nicole Baxter, Prevention Specialist at Davis Behavioral Health, about the event and the continuing efforts to prevent underage drinking across the state.
She told us studies show that children who eat meals with their family five to seven times a week are 33 percent less likely to drink underage.
In addition, while you might think your kids are more influenced by their peers, research shows the #1 reason kids choose not to drink is because of parental disapproval.
So Baxter gave us three things parents can do to prevent underage drinking: bonding, boundaries and monitoring.
Bonding is consistently spending time together having fun.
Boundaries means setting clear rules about not drinking underage.
Monitoring your kids means you're aware of their comings and goings and you know their day-to-day world.
Check out the Parents Empowered Facebook Page for tips and resources parents can use to start these conversations and help prevent underage drinking.
And for more information please visit parentsempowered.org.
