6 Effective Ways To Control Your Kid From Consuming Alcohol
One of the biggest responsibilities of parents is to ensure their children are safe from any negative influence. One major culprit that often turns this risk into a reality is alcohol abuse.
With so much media intrusion and exposure, young children are at a risk of coming in contact with the substance. Your child will soon be able to analyse and observe things faster than you have can anticipate.
As a responsible parent, you may tend to drink socially once in a while. But your child, who is always curious and observant, will notice what is being served. In these days and times, it is not possible to completely give up alcohol consumption from your social circle. In such circumstances, it becomes all the more crucial to sit and discuss about the effects of alcohol with your little one.
If you are seeking direction and tips to kick start the conversation while dealing with your kid about exposure to alcohol, the following tips will be helpful.
Kids And Alcohol – Measures To Deal While Tackling The Exposure:
Here are few very important things that you need to do deal with kids drinking alcohol to make them understand the ramifications of alcohol abuse.
1. Talking About The Effects Of Alcohol On Kids:
Discussing openly about the many disastrous effects of alcohol is always better once your child reaches a certain age. State your child about both the short and the long term effects of alcohol. The short term effects include distorted vision and hearing, impaired judgment, bad breath and hangovers. The more serious long term effects include cancer, loss of appetite, stomach ailments, heart and brain damages, memory loss, impotence and more. Be free to make your child understand the dangers with assertiveness.
2. Be A Role Model:
Before you can start preaching about the negative effects of alcohol to your child, it is very important that you show it by example. If you were a moderate to heavy drinker before, make sure you stop the habit right away. Refusing alcohol in social gathering will leave a lasting impression on your child’s mind that consuming alcohol is bad. Once you start doing that, your kid will automatically follow your footsteps.
3. Teach Your Child To Say NO:
Your child might be exposed to parties of his own, especially if he is a teenager. Talk to your child openly and express the need to say NO when required. While your kid might be under severe peer pressure in the teen years, learning to say no helps him to become firmer. This is more of a psychological boost that improves your kid’s personality.
[ Read: How To Discipline Your Child ]
4. Imbibe A Stress Free Life:
The less stress there is at home, the more confident your children are. Ingrain a positive and nurturing environment at home that will keep your kids away from bad habits. Love, open communication and constant conversation with your child helps build a great rapport that paves way for a two way understanding. Children are more prone to falling into bad company when the parents do not spend enough time with them. Make sure there is togetherness and harmony with your little one to enhance his overall well being.
5. Inculcate A Healthy Lifestyle:
A healthy lifestyle always wins half the battle. Maintaining healthy diet, fitness and routine will not only tone your child’s body, but also balance his mind. A healthy body and healthy mind always have good thoughts and more resistance towards wrong things. This way, your kid will also be in a better position to take a judgment about the after effects of consuming alcohol.
6. Keep Tabs On Your Child:
While spending quality time, make sure you also keep tab on your child’s life. This could be keeping an eye on his friends at school, knowing about his habits and everyday routine, etc. Keeping alert while subtly watching your kid helps you to better understand where your child is headed, with respect to his life and habits.
[ Read: How To Stop Bad Habits In Children ]
These are some effective ways that may help protect your child from falling prey to alcohol. Good habits and good thinking always start early in life. Make sure that you are a part of his journey and by his side, always.
Share your views regarding this sensitive topic on kids and alcohol with us.
