PORE Parents , Tips For Parents: Discussing Underage Drinking (NAPSA)—There’s welcome news for parents who have yet to have a discussion with their son or daughter about underage drinking. There’s a free program that’s designed to help parents begin the conversation and maintain an ongoing dialogue with their kids. According to a recent study, 67 percent of parents feel that they have influence on their teens’ decisions about underage drinking and they think their teens listen to what they have to say. Additionally, the parenting poll revealed that parents who’ve already talked to their teens about underage drinking this back-to-school season believe they’re getting through to their kids, with 88 percent saying their teens were receptive. The survey was conducted by Impulse Research for Anheuser-Busch. A Program to Help Parents First launched more than 20 years ago, Family Talk was revamped in 2011 and now focuses on parenting stages—teacher, facilitator and coach—that help parents use and adapt their influence to help prevent underage drinking as their children grow and mature. The program wasrecently renovated and expandedwith help from certified parent coach MJ Corcoran to be a comprehensive resource for parentsof kidsof all ages. The program guide, which can be downloaded for free from the program’s Facebook page, offers parents a numberof tips for having more meaningful conversations with their children about drinking, including: When discussing drinking, parents should ask open-ended questions, such as “If there’s drinking at the party, what will you do?” Asking open-ended questions, such as “If there’s drinking at the party, what will you do?” or “What do you think about kids who drink?” Listening with an open mind. In other words, stay focused on what your child is saying right then, not on what he or she has said in the past, or what parents think their child should be saying. *Setting consistent, clear boundaries. In addition to downloading the guide, when visiting the Facebook page, parents can interact with a parent-coach expert and other parents to share tips and advice on handling real-world situations. Maintaining a Dialogue “Our Family Talk About Drinking program is designed to help parents begin the conversation and maintain an ongoing dia- logue, whether their child is in elementary, middle or high school, or even headed to college,” said Kathy Casso, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility for Anheuser-Busch. To learn more, visit www.facebook.com/ABFamilyTalk. Note to Editors: The online poll was conducted in July 2012 with a sample of 1,022 U.S. parents (men and women) with teenagers enrolled in high school or college. Poll participants were selected to closely match U.S. population demographics. The overall sampling error rate for this poll is +/ 3 percent at the 95 percent level of confidence.
