The Alcohol Talk: Your Checklist

When you talk to your kids about alcohol there are many important things that you cannot leave out. There are also some things that you shouldn’t do. You can sometimes forget yourself and forget about things that you want to mention when you are talking to your child. It happens. To make sure that you stay focused and really get out what you want to say, use this checklist when talking to kids about alcohol.

Talking to kids about alcohol checklist:

Before you sit down with your child:

-Pick a time where you won’t be interrupted
-If you have a set of twins (or more) talk to them individually and make a list for each individually too
-Go over what you want to say with your spouse
-Learn all you can about what you should say to your child and add your own personal touch
-Become very comfortable about it- the more comfortable you are the more comfortable she will be in asking the difficult questions

Beginning:

-Ask your child if she will come and talk to you for a few minutes- tell her she isn’t in trouble but you want to talk to her about something important
-Tell her that you want to talk about alcohol

Talking about it:

-Remind her of your standards
-Tell her what you expect of her
-Let her know that she is very welcome to ask any questions now or later about anything and don’t just tell her, show her that you are open to talking about it
-Tell her that it’s not a way to manage stress and that using alcohol to manage stress will create more and really bad problems like addiction and over using alcohol
-Teach her to say no- do role playing that is fun for her and that is actually relevant to situations that she will be in
-Talk to her about peer pressure and how she doesn’t have to do what other people say- let her know that she is a wonderful person- help her build up her self esteem now and later
-Tell her that she is always welcome to leave a situation that she doesn’t like- if she feels uncomfortable let her know she can always call you and you will come pick her up
-Teach her about all the dangers of drinking- tell her that she should never get in a car with someone who has been drinking- she can always call you for a ride without having to give an explanation (at least at that point) why
-Listen to your child and how she reacts
-Tell her that if she or anyone she knows starts drinking or drinking a lot, that they can always come to you and you will help- let her know that you are there to help and won’t be angry

Ending:

-Make sure she again knows how you feel about alcohol and what your expectations are
-Tell her again that you are always there for her and love her- even if she makes a mistake
-End by asking if she has any questions or wants to talk about anything- give her a few minutes to answer

Don’t push anything on your child. Don’t make this a lecture but tell her about how you feel and let her know that you are always there for her. You have to keep encouraging her and building her self esteem throughout her childhood and teenage years. It will be the best defense for your child.