How to Warn a Son About College Alcohol Abuse

You don't want your son to drink, or at least not to excess, when he goes away to college. You want to warn him about the dangers of college alcohol abuse, but you're not sure how to approach the subject. Here are a few ways to make this difficult subject easier to discuss with him.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Start talking early. Many experts recommend that you begin talking to your child about alcohol as early as 10 years old. Younger children are much more receptive to a parent's advice about issues such as alcohol than teenagers, who think they know more than their parents. However, even if he does not seem receptive, your son will hear you, and there's a good chance your words will stay in the back of his mind.
2. Assume a confident, conversational delivery for your talk on alcohol, but don't deliver a lecture. For a high school student looking forward to partying while he's away at college, lecturing may just annoy and cause him to tune you out. The one-sidedness of a lecture can also close the door to communication with your son. In a conversation, he will feel like his participation in the discussion is welcomed and he may openly ask you questions.
3. Explain the consequences of drinking alcohol. It is important to remind your son that underage drinking is illegal, and he could get arrested for it and maybe thrown out of school. He should also know that alcohol can affect his judgment and increase his chances for getting in a serious car accident, getting alcohol poisoning, becoming a perpetrator of date rape, having unprotected sex, failing classes and becoming dependent on alcohol.
4. Avoid being hypocritical. If you drank in college and your son knows this, be sure to tell him how negatively it affected you. If you brag about your college drinking days and make it sound like a fun experience, you will lose credibility with your son.