Dickinson fifth graders get sobering lesson in alcohol use

The Southwest Coalition of Safe Communities, in collaboration with the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has sponsored the event to help prevent underage drinking. Dean Arneson, Colette Klewin and Tammy Praus all school counselors will lead the discussion about why and how young people can avoid alcohol use.

New data have found that around 25 percent of youngsters, ages 12-20 have used alcohol illegally. By the time they reach the eighth grade, nearly 50 percent of adolescents have had at least one drink, and over 20 percent report having been "drunk". According to local data, 15 percent of 6th graders said they had drunk alcoholic beverages at least a few times, and 4 in 10 have had alcohol at least once.

"Far too many children are beginning to drink at a dangerously early age," said Becky Byzewski, Prevention/Safe Communities Coordinator. "This Reach Out Now Teach-In is an important step in helping our kids get a clear and consistent message at home and at school that underage drinking is dangerous, illegal, and unacceptable."

For the third year in a row, SAMHSA has joined with Scholastic, Inc., to distribute alcohol prevention materials to every fifth-grade class in America in time for Alcohol Awareness Month. Each classroom received Reach Out Now: Talk With Your Fifth Grader About Underage Alcohol Use in formats for both classroom teachers and parents.

SAMHSA reports that families exert a great deal of influence on whether a child uses alcohol later in life. "What parents may not realize," says SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curtis, "is that children say that their parents' disapproval of underage drinking is the key reason they have chosen not to drink." SAMHSA reports that children and teens are less likely to abuse alcohol if parents are involved in their children's lives, make and enforce clear rules, and are positive role models.