Do you know the extent of drinking by children in your neighborhood?

Encourage healthy alternatives to alcohol. One reason kids drink is to beat boredom. Therefore, it makes sense to encourage your child to participate in supervised after-school and weekend activities that are challenging and fun. According to a recent survey of preteens, the availability of enjoyable, alcohol-free activities is a big reason for deciding not to use alcohol. If your community doesn’t offer many supervised activities, consider getting together with other parents and young teens to help create some. Start by asking your child and other kids what they want to do, since they will be most likely to participate in activities that truly interest them. Find out whether your church, school, or community organization can help you sponsor a project.

Monitor alcohol use in your home. If you keep alcohol in your home, keep track of the supply. Make clear to your child that you don’t allow un-chaperoned parties or other teen gatherings in your home. If possible, however, encourage him or her to invite friends over when you are at home. The more entertaining your child does in your home, the more you will know about your child’s friends and activities.

In addition, monitor any home delivery and Internet/mail order sales and make sure someone over the age of 21 is home to sign for these items when they are delivered.

Break up parties. Large parties of underage drinkers pose a problem for police. On the one hand, police have a responsibility to get involved and make arrests or issue warnings. On the other hand, they know that young people may scatter to their cars when the police arrive, increasing the risk of crashes. Some jurisdictions have developed special police procedures, known as controlled party dispersal plans that have been successful in breaking up large parties safely.

Consider incorporating neighborhood watch and other neighborhood groups into this process to quickly alert police when there is evidence of teen parties in private residences.

Begin or join community efforts to reduce youth access to alcohol. You are often the most visible and effective leaders in protecting the health and safety of children. You can contact your local public health agency or school to learn about and become involved in efforts to prevent teenage drinking. In addition, you can:

• Meet with city council members to pass local ordinances to reduce youth access to alcohol.
• Meet with owners and managers of alcohol establishments to encourage them to adopt practices that will help them reduce sales to youth.
• Encourage police to do compliance checks of businesses that sell alcohol.
• Encourage faith organizations, schools, etc. to develop policies to reduce underage access to alcohol on their property and at their events.