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Teaching Your Teen Not to Drink and Drive

When you start teaching your teen not to drink and drive, there are plenty of tools at your fingertips, such as defensive driving classes. Besides the commercials on the television or the radio, which they probably roll their eyes at because of overexposure, there are also plenty of print materials and videos you can access. These can be found either with your car insurance provider or online sites where the statistics are not only listed, but demonstrated. This can be done by using explicit videos showing exactly what happens to the brain and body when a teen drinks, and how it's impossible to escape these results. Because teens are still growing and developing, their brain reacts different to alcohol than an adult's would. While it's not healthy for anyone to engage in this behavior, it is especially damaging to someone who is still developing. In order to show them this, you need to explain what those differences are so they can see them in black and white.

Obtaining Several Instruction Methods

When you are using the car insurance websites to give them this lesson, you'll notice there are plenty of options to choose from. Your teen may learn in one specific way and you can use this information to tailor this instruction in a more effective manner. Rather than lay it out in a way that might be boring or uninteresting, you can show them plenty of examples where kids their own age have been seriously injured, paralyzed or even killed because they made one bad decision. Unfortunately, once the decision has been made, it cannot be undone. Any resulting damage will last for a lifetime, and if they accidentally kill someone, they have to live with that as well. Besides living with it, they may also be facing jail or prison time, which will permanently mar their public record. Even if it's forgotten by the people they know, it can be accessed by law enforcement for the rest of their life.

Effects on School Grades

Besides the fact of brain damage, there may be accompanying factors including lower test scores. Bog high school students and college students alike are going to be susceptible to this and it can very much affect your future. Can you imagine if a few test points separated you from being able to work your dream occupation? Can you imagine if the reason you got those questions wrong was because you got drunk the night before your test or had been doing so several times in the past month? Heartbreak and disappointment, as well as guilt, would be lasting effects of these decisions. It's also harder to understand because sometimes when alcohol is mixed with other drinks, it can seem like less of a danger.

Being a good example is one of the very best ways to start teaching your teen not to drink and drive. Making it a point to share with them whatever stories are on the news involving kids and drinking will also drive the point home further. Usually, they make the decision to drink so they can feel part of the crowd and accepted, but if you make them feel that way already, they won't be looking for an outside source of acceptance. Teaching them at home also includes loving and communicating with them, and you can do a lot by walking right beside them. This way, they know you're involved in a loving way with only their best interests at heart--not the idea that you want to keep them out of anything misguided fun.