On Wednesday March 25, 2009 I read an article titled “What others think: Follow N.D.’s lead on PR campaign,” from the Jamestown Sun Online Edition. The article is about how North Dakota has started a campaign to help remind parents of the dangers that go along with teen drinking, along with educating teens of the consequences of drinking.
This campaign is largely due to a 2008 alcohol use survey of North Dakotans that are 18 or older. The results showed that half the teens think alcohol and drugs only play a minor to moderate role in crashes and injuries. Around 70 percent of the people that responded to the survey said it was not hard for teens to get their parents to buy them alcohol. Also one third of the adults feel that teen drinking is acceptable.
The law states that you have to be 21 years of age in order to consume alcohol. So the results of this survey show that many people feel that breaking the law is alright. A lot of people feel the drinking age should be moved to 18, but that shouldn’t change the fact that the age is 21 now, not 18.
If parents start getting alcohol for their kids on occasion the kids may think it is alright to drink whenever they want to and this could cause problems. If their teen would go out some night and drink without the parents knowing, the parents might want them home at a certain curfew. The teen may then proceed to drive home after he or she had been drinking, which would be extremely dangerous.
So I believe this campaign is a great one for North Dakota. The state is showing everyone that they care about the safety of its residence. Posters, brochures, and activity books are part of this $36,000 campaign. Hopefully other states will notice this and follow suit to help try and make the whole U.S. safer.
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I agree this is a great idea. Younger and younger kids are starting to drink and think its ok. I am one of those people that think the age should be lowered to 18, but kids in high school and even middle school are starting to drink.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what will prevent this from starting at such a young age, but I am glad to know our state is working on it. I think posters, brochures, and other things are good ways to start. Giving activity books even in Elementary school would be smart too. The younger we start educating the more of a chance we have agianst teen drinking.
I too agree its a great idea. Kids are drinking and smoking at a way younger age now than in the past. I am not sure what is going to prevent kids from drinking at such a young age but I feel something really needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteI was recently on a trip where we took a boat to a small island near by with other people. There was a mom and dad on this boat who allowed their son who was no older than maybe 14 or 15 to smoke and drink the entire day. This boy was very immature to began with and as the day went on and he kept drinking he acted even stupider and let me tell you he was the talk to the boad. Everyone on this boat was upset with the way he and the rest of his family. Not only that but that his parents allowed him to do this and act this way.
It was very sad to see this and I dont think that the drinking age needs to be lowered I feel that we can work together to prevent the underage drinking as much as possible.
I think Tiffany's comment hits the nail on the head in terms of who really needs to be educated--it's the parents!
ReplyDeleteND is clearly trying to combat the fact that we are number 1 in the country for underage drinking. Tiffany's story clearly illustrates it is in large part due to parents thinking it's acceptable. This kind of attitude is what has to change.
The problem is that the culture in ND has always been, oh kids will be kids and being a teenager means going out drinking at parties. They think, "I did it when I was in school and I'm fine." Of course, parents don't want their kid to get hurt, but they really don't see a problem with having a 'good time.' I don't think they see it as a crime or even a major danger to their kids.
It makes me wonder if the adult over-consumption rate in ND is higher than other states as well....
This is a great campaign for North Dakota to be the leader on. Too many times, I hear the excuse of “there’s nothing else to do, so we drink.” What?! I grew up in one of the smaller towns in this great state, and I could always find something to do that didn’t involve drinking.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting piece that I hope they include in this campaign is the fact that 60% of the Fargo-Moorhead metro area youth feels that their community does not value them. If society wants to see a decrease in underage drinking, they need to step up and show the youth that they are valued. If the kids feel valued, they will become more involved, and the amount of underage drinking should decrease (in a perfect world).
I also agree that what the state is doing to help raise awareness about teenage drinking is a great thing. You make a very good point about how teenagers may be drinking at a friends house or wherever and feel that it is perfectly fine to drive home to make it back before their curfew. It blows me away that one third of the adults surveyed felt that underage drinking was acceptable. Just goes to show that today’s children are only as responsible as their parents. I hope some people learn something from this campaign.
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