The ARA’s mission is to reduce alcohol-related harm through combating the misuse and abuse of alcohol beverages and promoting only their responsible use.
Does your drinking behaviour affect your child?
Adolescence is a period where the teenager acquires and imitates adult behaviour. – taken from the book entitled, Teenagers & Alcohol produced by the Industry Association for Responsible Alcohol Use (ARA). “Although teenagers learn about drinking from a variety of sources, whether it is family, friends, people they look up to or social or environmental influences, it has however been realised that the role parents play is a leading factor in the teen’s decision about alcohol”, says Adrian Botha, spokesperson for the ARA.
Parental behaviour is therefore very important in the eyes of adolescents, as this is the time when they grow up and observe. Research has shown that teens that have supportive parents with open communication lines are less likely to experience problems with alcohol than young people who come from families where parental supervision is lacking.
In South Africa, teens are not just consuming alcohol, but it has been recorded that 23% of our youth binge drink, or in other words, drink with the intention to get drunk.
So often we hear that the expression that today’s teens are the leaders of tomorrow, but if 23% of our youth between the ages of 11 and 15 are already a recorded statistic of alcohol abusers then our society is faced with a mammoth challenge to change their behaviour and to educate them on the harm that alcohol has on a teenager, a physique in development.
The kind of alcohol beverages young people drink and how they obtain those products varies around the world. Surveys in the U.S. have shown that many teens get alcohol from their parents’ home or from other persons above the legal drinking age.
In a study on Underage Alcohol Use it has been found that:
- 90 Percent of underage drinkers were either given alcohol for free or had someone else purchase it for them
- A quarter of underage drinkers reported getting alcohol from an adult who was not related to them; 1 in 12 said they got it from an adult family member other than a parent or guardian; and 1 in 16 said they got it from a parent
In another study it showed that parents who drank heavily tended to be lax in monitoring their children's comings and goings, but tended to punish them more often. Those tendencies seemed to influence their teenagers' odds of drinking and getting drunk.
Underage drinking is certainly nothing new and although there are many reasons why adolescents drink, some of the most common reasons found in recent studies include:
- Escape
- Boredom and instant friends
- Rebellion
- Everybody is doing it…
- Instant gratification
- Lack of confidence
- Parental influences
Everybody is doing it or I’ve got to fit in, are some of the most common reasons why teens choose to drink. Simply put, peer approval plays an important role in your teen’s decision about alcohol use or drinking habits.
It is therefore clear that positive parenting has to be strengthened. Parents should be encouraged to engage with their children on the issue of drinking and should also set the example through their own behavior. It is vital that parents need to use their positive parent power to communicate with their children about making smart and responsible choices.
If you are a parent, be a role model.
About the ARA
The ARA is an association comprising members that include the major manufacturers of alcohol beverages in South Africa, such as SAB Ltd, members of the SA Liquor Brandowners Association (which include Distell, Brandhouse, KWV, Douglas Green Bellingham, & Co, Pernod-Ricard and The Really Great Brand Company amongst others), members of VinPro and members of Wine Cellars SA. A number of distributors and some retail chains such as Tops and Diamond Liquors have been welcomed as associate members.
The ARA is registered as a non-profit organization (NPO) with the Department of Social Development and is focused on the prevention of the negative consequences of alcohol abuse. The association’s mission is to reduce alcohol-related harm through combating the misuse and abuse of alcohol beverages and promoting only their responsible use.
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