Tag Archives: college drinking

infographics

How Much Do College Students Drink?

 

There are 17 million college students that drink alcohol, and 8.5 million of them are binge drinking. We’ve heard the terms “poor” or “struggling” college student before, but it’s no wonder they are living off of Ramen Noodles when there was a reported $163 billion spent on alcohol in America in 2011. It’s not all fun and games when young people are consuming 2 gallons per person of alcohol. There are negative consequences of this behavior that includes assault, rape, injury and even death.

How much do college students drink? It seems that students are learning a lot more than econ and statistics nowadays. Click on the infographic below to see all the data.

college drinking

college guidance, parenting

Teaching your college-bound teens about the dangers of drinking and driving

Do you remember when you were a teenager? Likely you can recall bits and pieces, but as you have grown older, wiser, and more experienced, you may have forgotten the particular blend of hormones, peer pressure, and self-discovery that leads teens to experience a sense of both invincibility and the immediacy of everything going on in their lives. You no doubt shake your head, exasperated, when your teens decry your overly careful attitude, but the truth is that you are at very different places in life. Your teens have yet to know the heartache and hurt that have caused you to become so cautious. But you have been where they are, and if you try to recall how you thought and felt at their age you should be able to come up with ways to connect to your college-bound kids on a level they can relate to. When it comes to discussing the dangers of drinking and driving when they head off to campus, it’s imperative that you make an impression.

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A good place to start is by learning all that you can about drinking and driving. You might begin by visiting the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) website to bone up on statistics for teenage drinking and driving. Although you probably don’t want to present the students in your household with a laundry list of rote facts and figures, they could come in handy when you attempt a discussion with your know-it-all teens. In truth, statistics only tell a small part of the story. You’re going to have to get a lot more personal if you want to instill in your kids a healthy fear of what can happen when they choose to get behind the wheel after drinking.

When you sit down with your college-age kids with the intent of discussing the dangers of drinking and driving, the best way to engage them may be to let them do the talking. A hardline, authoritarian stance may work with some kids, but most teens will tune out the moment you start lecturing. Instead, try asking them what they think about drinking and driving. Many will automatically reply that they know it’s wrong and they would never do such a thing. But you can’t end the conversation there. Question them next about how drinking and driving could impact their lives. Ask them if they know what happens when they receive a DUI. That opens the door for you to explain the legal process, including the black mark that will stay with them for the rest of their lives, not to mention the hike in their college auto insurance rates for the next couple of years.

Ask your kids what they think will happen in the event of an accident, not only to them personally, but also to passengers in their vehicle and the driver or passengers of other vehicles. You might even go so far as to have them to consider how they might feel if they hurt or killed a friend, or to imagine the guilt if they ended the life of a child or a family in another vehicle just because they were too stupid or too proud to call a cab or arrange for a designated driver for the night. In addition to the emotional weight of such a situation, they would also face criminal charges, potentially landing them in jail and getting them expelled from school in the process.

Making your kids think about these things and explain them to you in their own words is the best way to ensure that they’re thinking about them when they’re confronted with the prospect of drinking and driving. You won’t always be there to deter them, but you can give them the tools to think for themselves and make the right decision when it comes to drinking and driving.

college guidance, parenting, Uncategorized

The #1 Party School Crown

This year the Princeton Review named Penn State the #1 Party School. Last year it was University of Florida. I remember when my daughter was headed off to college, Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State) claimed the title. Does that mean that the schools that aren’t rated don’t party? Of course not. It means that the students who were polled online gave responses that garnered them that title. They wear it proudly. However sobering that thought may be, it’s a reality.

This American Life did an interesting series of podcasts about the college drinking culture. As a parent, it was an eye opener. Don’t get me wrong, I know that both my kids drank in college. I was not naive to think they would avoid alcohol for four years. But listening to this podcast definitely raises some serious questions regarding college drinking and its affect on our young college students.

Here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself before your teen heads off to college:

  1. Would you let your teen go to the #1 Party School (or even one that was ranked)?
  2. How concerned are you about college binge drinking?
  3. Do you think drinking is a rite of passage for college students?
  4. How can you discourage your teen from overindulging in alcohol while in college?
  5. Considering that a large portion of college drinking happens at frat parties, would you discourage involvement in Greek life?
  6. Does your daughter understand that drinking often leads to hooking up that she might regret later?
  7. Would drinking and the affect it has on college students make you think twice about allowing them to live in a dorm or even leave home for college?
  8. How can you impress the importance of a college education when the college culture revolves around beer bongs, frat parties, and binge drinking?
  9. Knowing that drinking causes negative consequences, how can you teach your teen to make the right choices before they are on their own and being influenced by their peers?
  10. Is the value of a college education devalued because of the college drinking culture?

Head over to This American Life where you can stream the broadcast for free or download it for $.99. The interviews cover conversations with Penn State students, people in the surrounding neighborhood, officers, and establishments in the area. You will hear students talk about their drinking escapades and girls talking about the behavior drinking induces. You will listen to guys talk about inducing a drunken state in the hopes of getting the girl into bed.

It’s eye-opening and a bit disturbing. But, as a parent, you need to know about the culture so you can help prepare your teen. You should talk about drinking and prepare them for the inevitable onslaught of peer pressure to drink. If your teen is headed off to college in the fall, listen to this podcast with them and use it to open the discussion.