DOING DRUGS WITH
PAUL DILLON

Each year I am contacted by a number of parents about this issue. In almost all cases they have recently found out that another parent (usually one hosting a party or gathering) has provided alcohol to their child and now that they have this information they have absolutely no idea how to respond. Some of them certainly confront the other parent, however, most of them are too worried that if they do respond in any way at all it could result in a backlash against their son or daughter in some way (e.g., they'll be socially excluded in some way by their peers). As a result, they end up feeling totally frustrated and powerless, furious that another parent would do this sort of thing but too worried to do anything about it. I have written about this issue before but have decided to raise it again because I have just got off the phone from a Mum and a Dad who are really struggling with what to do next. They have asked me not to use their case in this piece but what I am able to say ...

Even if they don't necessarily agree with the research, most Australian parents are now aware that when it comes to alcohol and young people the message is 'delay, delay, delay'. Put simply, when it comes to brain development the later your child has their first drink, the better. As I've written many times before, drinking alcohol during adolescence doesn't cause 'brain damage' per se, it reduces their potential. If you want your child to be the best they can be, you should try your best to ensure their first drink happens as late as possible. But when we say 'first drink', what do we actually mean by that? Are we talking about a full glass or a sip? Is it the first drink that causes the potential problems or regular drinking over a period of time? The issue is complicated and I've tried to assist parents to make their own decisions in this area by highlighting up-to-date research findings around the parental provision of alcohol. One issue I ...

It's that time again and with Year 12 exams wrapping up across the country, I'm getting contacted by growing numbers of parents asking questions about Schoolies Week (or Schoolies Festival as it is known in SA or Leavers Week in WA). As some of you may have seen I found myself on the front page of the Gold Coast Bulletin last weekend, apparently calling for the Queensland event to be scaled back to three days instead of a week long party, bringing it in line with what happens in SA and WA. Let's make it clear, I wasn't 'calling' for anything … I was asked in a very lengthy interview what happened in other states and I told the jounalist. I was then asked did I believe the Gold Coast should follow suit and I replied that I didn't think it was a bad idea. It would make it more manageable, more affordable for young people and their parents, and the shorter the time, the more likely potentially risky behaviour would be reduced to some degree. That was it, I ce...

There have been many studies examining what influences young people's drinking behaviour. I have discussed many of these, including recent Australian research looking at parental provision of alcohol and whether or not it was 'protective'. Even though greater numbers of school-based young people choose not to drink, the reality is that most Australians will drink alcohol at some point. It is a legal product and so closely linked to socializing and having a 'good time' in this country, that it will be some time yet (if ever) before that situation changes. Some young people are going to drink and the one thing that every parent wants is to ensure that if they do, they do not drink to excess. That's why some parents choose to give a couple of bottles to their 15 or 16-year-old child to take to a party, i.e., believing they know what they're drinking and therefore they'll be safer. So what do we know about what influences teens to choose to drink? More im...