Teenagers & Alcohol - 

Safe Socialising

Lauren Zelunka from TaskForce presented “Teenagers and Alcohol - Safe Socialising” to parents of daughters in Years 8-10 this week.  Lauren also ran a workshop earlier this year where our Year 9 students looked into the effects of alcohol, decision making, the impacts of alcohol, harm minimisation, resilience and peer pressure.

Some interesting points from the parent presentation included:

• Data from the NHMRC tells us that a higher proportion of 12-17 year olds abstained from alcohol (82%) than had abstained in the last three years (72%).  This is certainly positive, however, it is believed that this is down to online gaming and social media, as students often ‘socialise’ through their devices, rather than meet face to face with friends.
• In 2016, 1 in 6 (17.4%) young people aged 14 years or older consumed alcohol at a level that put them at risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury over their lifetime.
• About 1 in 3 (36%) people aged 12 years or older drank at least once in the last 12 months, in a pattern that placed them at risk of an alcohol-related injury from a single drinking occasion.

Lauren also spoke about a very useful number to save in your phone as a young person or parent – ‘Text the effects’ – see info below. Simply text the name of any drug to receive a text instantly detailing the immediate and long term effects.

Below is a download that includes some tips for parents on to how to discuss alcohol with teenagers, and contact numbers for help and support.

Hayley Fraser

Head of Xavier House