Parents Who Host, Lose the Most
The power of pause speaks to the intentional act of slowing down and grounding oneself to break the cycle of unhealthy behaviors and reactions. Alcohol use by young people has been clearly linked to a multitude of adolescent problem behaviors. Parents hold the key to the prevention of their children’s use. When making decisions about alcohol use in their home, parents can benefit by pausing and considering how alcohol use may affect their children’s health. According to the National Institute of Health:
- Latino youth face elevated risks of early alcohol initiation and binge drinking, often driven by acculturation stress, peer pressure, and lower cultural stigma.
- Machismo(masculinity) can be associated with increased drinking, whereas marianismo (traditional femininity) and being foreign-born have been associated with lower consumption in women.
- While traditional values like familismocan act as protective factors, acculturation to U.S. norms often increases alcohol consumption, particularly among second and third generations.
It is essential that parents pause and learn the facts before allowing underage alcohol use in their home. The Council on Chemical Abuse offers parents a wide range of resources to support their children in healthy decision-making regarding alcohol use. The Parents Who Host, Lose the Most is a national public health media campaign designed by the Prevention Action Alliance to remind parents about the risks of serving alcohol to minors. By decreasing their access to alcohol, parents can reduce the likelihood that teens will drink and therefore suffer the health effects that come from underage drinking.
Visit us on the link below to our website below and learn about the steps you can take to protect your children from the risks of alcohol use: cocaberks.org/parents-who-host-en-espanol/)
