Keep our youngsters safe

Robin Lavorato

Guest Column

With graduation season upon us, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the dangers young people face during this time and how we can help reduce the risks.

First, I would like to share some horrific statistics. The No. 1 place from which children get alcohol is their own home - the No. 2 place is a friend's home. Approximately 10 percent of New Jersey's seventh-graders have used alcohol in the past 30 days, and 17.8 percent of New Jersey's eighth-graders have used alcohol in the past 30 days. Almost half of New Jersey high school students have used alcohol in the past 30 days, and four out of five New Jersey high school students have used alcohol some time in their life.

Some of the most negative consequences seen during graduation season are: car crashes - underage drinking is a factor in nearly half of all teen car crashes, and during graduation season this number rises; sexual assaults and date rapes - 66 percent of all are linked to alcohol abuse; alcohol poisoning - since youthful drinkers are less sensitive to alcohol's sedative effects, they can reach very high alcohol levels and still be drinking; violence and crime; as well as youth arrests for all of the above negative consequences.

Many sectors of our society are responsible for keeping our children safe during graduation season. But in my opinion, the family - parents and guardians - have the most responsibility to keep their children safe.

The conversation between parents and their children about alcohol should start in early elementary school and continue throughout high school and college. Parents need to teach their children that alcohol is a dangerous substance. Alcohol impedes the development of the brain. Our brain is not fully developed until we are in our 20s. The frontal lobe of the brain, which is responsible for memory and decision-making, is negatively affected by underage drinking. Hormonal changes in the body are also negatively impacted.

You wouldn't let your child shoplift or drive a car before he or she was permitted, so why are so many parents serving alcohol to minors (not only their children, but other parents' children), knowing it is illegal, knowing it is harmful to the developing body?

I urge parents to be parents, not your child's friend. Do not give in to the relentless pressure from your children to serve alcohol at their graduation party - not even with a silly provision like "Only if the kids sleep over or give me their car keys" or "No hard liquor, only beer." These provisions do not keep the children safe from the negative consequences of underage drinking. And these provisions, clearly, do not make serving minors legal.

Do not allow your child to attend a party where alcohol will be served to minors, even if you "trust" your child. Let your child know there will be consequences if he or she does attend a party where there is underage drinking. It is bad enough if parents allow their underage children to drink, but they have no right to serve alcohol to another's child.

Notify the police (this can be done anonymously) if you believe underage drinking is taking place in your community. Do not serve alcohol to minors at your child's graduation party. It is illegal, and you are committing a crime. When you are arrested you could be fined $1,000 for each child - 25 children, $25,000 fine. Know that even if you did not purchase the alcohol, but alcohol is being used on your property by minors, you can still be charged.

In ending, here are a few more statistics as you send your child off to graduation parties and college. In the United States alone, alcohol kills more children than all illegal drugs combined. Every year, 1,400 college students die from alcohol-related injuries. More than 3 million teens are already alcoholics. Children who start to drink before the age of 15 are four times as likely to end up alcohol-dependent than if they had waited until the legal age of 21, and they are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems by the time they are 21.

Do the right thing for your children and for all the youth in our community. Educate yourself on the ill-effects of underage drinking, do not serve alcohol to minors under any circumstances, and notify the police immediately if you suspect underage drinking in your community.

Robin Lavorato is director of the Monroe Teen Awareness Program