Think again before letting your teen have that keg party at your house

Bonnie Zeitner

guest columnist

Maybe now that summer is here, someone should remind the teens in Gig Harbor that you have to be 21 to drink (and they shouldn’t do drugs).

Better yet, tell this to their parents:

Did anyone else catch the statistics presented in Paige Richmond’s June 12 story called “Police, parents join forces to address teen drug use”? Thirty percent of the 191 Gig Harbor High School seniors polled said they had been given drugs or alcohol by their parents.

In Europe, they allow teens to drink and purchase alcohol. They also seem to be the example used when someone is against our country’s drinking laws.

Europe believes it is better to allow teens access to alcohol at younger ages (some places have no age limit) and delay responsibilities until they are older (driving at 18). Teens are able to drink, and, because they are in public, there are adults who provide supervision. They believe that, by providing a responsible, safer setting, they will remove its taboo quality.

I commend Europe for its approach to alcohol and youth. Although I discovered Europe still has alcohol-related health issues.

Allowing teens to drink publicly at younger ages does not seem to have provided an overall solution.

According to a study conducted in Norway presented in The Oxford Journal, most teens had their first drink at a friend’s house, home life influenced drinking behavior, and, ironically, teen sports (with strict rules prohibiting alcohol consumption) delayed the onset of drinking.

According to the World Health Organization in Europe, The Declaration on Young People and Alcohol is working to delay the onset of drinking, minimize the pressure to drink and substantially reduce alcohol-related harm that occurs to youth.

According to the European Commission, teen binge drinking has increased in most countries within the European Union since the 1990s.

Alcohol consumption is viewed as a health problem in Europe, and they are working toward solutions. It seems many countries are even looking to delay the legal drinking age. Maybe the European example should be re-evaluated?

In our country (regardless of Europe’s belief), it is illegal to drink or distribute alcohol to anyone younger than 21. Responsible drinking and teenagers just do not go hand-in-hand. Typically, teens whose parents are allowing them to drink are at parties, and the parents are likely drinking irresponsibly right along with them. The drinking is done to get drunk. I have not encountered moderation, nor monitoring in these instances.

The majority of teens at these parties wind up binge drinking and getting high, or making poor personal choices.

It is frustrating to hear other parents say it’s safer if their kids drink in their house, that they’ll do it anyway, or that it’s part of growing up.

Losing your teeth is part of growing up. Feeling left out or having your heart broken is part of growing up. But allowing kids to get drunk or high is not part of growing up.

That puts them at risk for pregnancy, STDs, rape, auto accidents and violent crime.

Visit our CDC’s Web site or the Surgeon General’s Web site for information regarding the risks associated with underage drinking (or any other country’s, for that matter).

If parents in Gig Harbor continue to allow teens to drink in their homes (and use drugs), then they are sending a conflicting message to the youth in our city. It doesn’t matter if a parent thinks teens should be allowed to drink at an earlier age because they can vote, go to war, drive a car, establish credit or buy tobacco before they are 21. In our country, like it or not, underage drinking or distributing alcohol to a minor is illegal.

Teens test boundaries. It’s what they do. I want my children to learn from their mistakes, but not when lives are at stake, nor when their safety is compromised.

I’ll be there to pick up the pieces when they are broken; guide them; provide for them; and get them through the tough teenage years with their dignity still intact.

Unfortunately I will also be here to present consequences, so I am the bad guy.

They may hate me for it now, but I have a lifetime to be their friend.

In the end, our personalities and our unfilled needs deeply impact our drinking habits as well. Sometimes those needs cannot be filled by immediate family. Maybe that’s why they say it takes a community to raise a child.

I hope this community steps up to help all of our teens through examples, through education, through limitations and through unity.

Bonnie Zeitner is a guest columnist for The Peninsula Gateway. She can be reached at bzeitner@comcast.net.