(KCPW News) By the time kids in Salt Lake City reach 10th grade, more than half of them will have tried alcohol according to ParentsEmpowered.org. Marjean Searcy, Chair of the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Coalition on Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs, says its up to parents to set boundaries with their children regarding alcohol use.”You can start before age 8. There’s no too early time to start talking to them, and showing them what your attitudes are towards alcohol and them drinking. And discuss the legal and social consequences,” says Searcy.
According to Searcy, setting boundaries is just one of several actions parents can take that are proven to help prevent children from drinking. She says it’s important for parents to bond with their children by showing interest in their interests. And third, she says adults should be monitoring their kids’ activities.
“The time that parents really need to pay attention to their teens if from 3 o’clock in the afternoon until 6 p.m. Kids are out of school while their parents are at work and aren’t in the home. So that 3 to 6 p.m. frame is really a time where they’re at higher risk,” says Searcy.
Salt Lake City and ParentsEmpowered.org hope to raise parental awareness about the dangers of underage drinking by once again placing messages on city garbage trucks. Six new trucks will carry the messages in the continuation of a campaign that began last year.