Helping girls & young women stay healthy by avoiding alcohol

In 2020, girls and young women ages 12–20 years old were more likely than boys and young men to say they used alcohol. Girls and young women reported:

How can we as parents, caregivers, and communities respond?

1. Be aware of the reasons that youth use alcohol, including stress over fitting in or a traumatic experience, a relationship break-up, or peer pressure.
2. Make it clear to the girls and underage young women in your life that you disapprove of underage drinking and other drug misuse. Share the reasons why.
3. Talk with your daughters, granddaughters, students, and other girls you care about on how to avoid alcohol and other drug misuse.
4. Share positive solutions to problems they may be facing.

Remember:

• Take the time, make the effort, and use the Sources of Strength that are surrounding you. Family support + healthy activities will get the ball rolling.
• Teaching your children about the dangers of underage drinking is an important step in raising responsible tweens & teenagers. Short, frequent discussions can have a real impact on your child’s decisions about alcohol. Family support and communication are key.
• Conversation and family activities can go hand in hand. Plan something fun for the whole family. There are always a variety of healthy activities available. Play a board game, watch a movie, help them with their homework, TAKE A WALK!
• What you do is as important as what you say. Setting a good example by not drinking or simply drinking responsibly shows that you practice what you preach. What you do impacts your child more than you might think. Children watch parents and form habits by what they see every day at home.

Learn more about underage drinking—and what you can do to prevent it—at StopAlcoholAbuse.gov/CommunitiesTalk. You can also visit Fremont County Prevention Program online for resources on underage drinking.

With the Fremont County Fair starting next week, there’s no time like the present to talk to your teen about underage drinking.

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2021). Results from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed tables. (Table 2.44B) https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2020-nsduh-detailed-tables, https://www.samhsa.gov/
PEP No. 22-03-10-015 I Released 2022