Be careful with teens during prom
POSTED: May 6, 2008
The intentions are good. If my kid is going to drink, some parents say, I want him or her to do it right here at home where I can control how much, prevent drunken driving, and intervene before other dangerous behavior commences. But the moment you allow any of the kid’s friends to participate, and chances are your kid is going to want to include friends, you are breaking the law.
That’s a friendly reminder that the Alliance for Substance Abuse and Prevention of Warren is giving to local parents as prom season gets under way. During prom season, we all know that underage drinking and underage drunken driving goes up. This trend continues right through graduation time later this month and June.
It is illegal for an adult to provide alcohol to or allow alcohol consumption by anyone younger than 21 unless it is the adult’s own child. Permission from another child’s parents is insufficient. The punishment is up to six months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.
Every year, it seems, this community suffers a tragedy as a result of underage drinking during proms and graduations. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, hundreds of teens every year are injured from falls or burns caused by underage drinking; alcohol use increases the risk of carrying out, or being a victim of, a physical or sexual assault; drinking alcohol affects students’ grades and run-ins with the law; underage consumption leads to increased chances of pregnancy and getting a sexually transmitted disease; and alcohol harms the brain cells.
Some teens get it. Howland High School students Reese Mowery, Jonathan Brady and Matt Zador created public service announcements for their ASAP of Warren professional projects. They won a state contest for their films about substance abuse and will have their films presented nationally next month.
Let’s join these students, ASAP of Warren, the Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic in Youngstown and others locally in getting the word out. Let’s remind people about the dangers of teen drinking, about how teen drinking trends upward during this time of year, and about how hosting teens who drink is the wrong answer.
