Make the Time to Have a Family Talk About Drinking

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I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Anheuser-Busch’s Family Talk About Drinking program. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

This is the time of year for parents of teens to spend extra time talking with their children.  It’s prom season.  It’s graduation and graduation party season.  It’s critical that you make the time to have a family talk about drinking.

As the mother of 3 and a parent educator, I’m happy to be an Anheuser-Busch Family Talk About Drinking Ambassador. 

 The Family Talk About Drinking program helps prepare and support parents to talk with their teens about underage drinking.  You can also find them on Facebook.  The Family Talk About Drinking Parent Guide  (you can download it for free) provides easy-to-follow tips on how to best connect with and talk with your teen about important topics, particularly underage drinking.

A few weeks ago, I shared some tips on how to have a REAL conversation with your teen and some tips that have worked well for our family.  The Family Talk About Drinking program has helped me to be more purposeful in talking with my daughter.  I’ve taken the time to make the time to sit down and talk with her (not at her).  That means that it took time and effort on my part to look for opportunities to talk; times that would be conducive to a good heart-to-heart, not a hurried I-checked-that-box talk. 

I’ve taken the time to ask purposeful questions to find out her thoughts, feeling and experiences with underage drinking.  My daughter is a strong person who will stand up for her beliefs.  I’ve always been proud of her for her character.  I’ve found that in talking with her, I’ve been able to sympathize with how hard it can be to stand up and do what you believe is right.  I’ve been able to encourage her and support her in her decisions in the face of disagreeing friends and peers.  It’s important for her to know that we’re here for her, supporting her as she stands up for what she knows is the right decision.

I’ve really enjoyed these purposeful talks with my daughter.  I’ve always loved and admired her as my daughter, but lately I’ve come to realize how much I admire her and enjoy her as a young adult.  I have had  wonderful experiences really listening to her thoughts and opinions.  I am her mother and always will be, but I’m enjoying getting to know her as an almost-adult. 

I feel pretty confident in my daughter has the knowledge and tools she needs to make good decisions, especially as graduation and graduation party season is just around the corner.  The other day I was discussing my daughter’s graduation party with her.  She made the comment, “Mom, all of my friends know there’s no drinking around our house and they wouldn’t even think about doing it.”  (said with teen emphasis and tone)  Although, I’m not naive, that statement did give me a bit of confidence that we will make it happily through graduation season.

Please take the time in your own family to have numerous family talks about drinking.  You can read about my experience and tips and you can download the Family Talk About Drinking Parent Guide to help you.  Make sure your teens know that there is no fear in coming to talk with you or asking for your help.  For our teens to grow into the aware, compassionate, accepting people we want them to be, we must first be compassionate and accepting role models for them.  Make the time to have a family talk about drinking today.

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Parenting Tips from a Mother of 3 and Parent Educator