[DanielleW]

My 14 year old told me she gets drunk every weekend since June
What's this doing to her body?

[silentrascal]

Hurting it.

[firmbeliever]

Alcohol
Binge Drinking
Out of Control Teen Drinking Devastating - KidsGrowth

Until someone with a medical background answers your question, you might like to read these links.




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[J_9]

Wow, I hope you are putting a stop to this immediately.

This is stunting her growth, alcohol can damage every organ in her body. It is absorbed directly into her bloodstream and can increase her risk for a variety of life-threatening diseases, including cancer.

It's damaging her liver making her more prone to permanent diseases such as chirrosis of the liver.

Scientific evidence suggests that even modest alcohol consumption in late childhood and adolescence can result in permanent brain damage.

—Testimony of Dr. John Nelson, American Medical Association, 2002

Teenage Girls 12 to 16 years old who currently drink alcohol are four times more likely than their non-drinking peers to suffer from depression.

—Third National Health and Nutrition Survey, 2000

Research shows teen drinkers score worse than their non-drinking peers on vocabulary, visual-spatial, and memory tests, and are more likely to perform poorly in school as a whole.

—“Underage Drinkers at Higher Risk of Brain Damage,” American Medical Association, 2003

Teens who drink alcohol may remember 10 percent less of what they learned compared to non-drinking adolescents.

—Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2000

Among current drinkers aged 12 to 17, 31 percent suffered extreme levels of psychological distress, and 39 percent exhibited serious behavioral problems.

—Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1999

Among 12 to 16 year olds, regular alcohol use is associated with attention-deficit disorder. In one study, adolescents who reported higher levels of drinking were more likely to have attention-deficit disorder.

[ScottGem]

While her health is a valid concern there are many other concerns here. I wonder if maybe you are a non custodial parent? Because otherwise I can't understand how you can not know that your daughter has been getting drunk for 4 months.

There are also questions about why she has been drinking, where she has been drinking and what are the circumstances that she admitted this to you.

[kcey]

On the other hand... lets face it, she's 14 and in high school... most of her friends or girls her age are drinking. They are young and don't know the damaging effects of drinking every weekend for months and nor do most of them care. Going to parties and drinking is a part of high school life and growing up. At least she is being honest with you.

[ScottGem]

Going to parties and drinking is a part of high school life and growing up.

Excuse me?? Yes I know that drinking is a problem, but its hardly "part of HS life". Many teens go through HS without drinking and most of them manage to get through without getting drunk, especially not every weekend.

Yes its good she was honest, though, again, I would like to know the circumstances under which she made this revelation. But your advice here is way too tolerant of a bad situation.

[silentrascal]

One thing you need to do is either cut off her unfit association with her "friends", or notify their parents as to what is going on, or both. If you hang out with trash, you're more likely to become trash yourself, and I'm sure that's not what you want for your daughter.

[Gernald]

It's destroying her liver, kidney's and probably lowering her brain function.
Slowly over time her kidney's will loose function and her stomach lining will be destroyed. Talk to her, find out why she started, get her to stop. There are lots of ALateen programs out there.
Most importantly: Don't beat yourself up about it, I know lots of teens who drink and there parents haven't a clue. There are so many ways to hide it.

[kcey]

I agree that getting drunk every single weekend is excessive, but all I am saying is that most teens are going to drink, go out, and every once in awhile "get drunk" Sorry to say that it is going to happen. And yes if her friends are trash then of course as a parent you need to change that, but if they come from good families and are decent then some control has to be taken as far as their habit of getting drunk every weekend.
Excuse me for saying: lighten up if they want to go out every once in a while. Yes, it is a part of "high school life" and if there is control as far as how often your kid goes out, she knows to never get into a vehicle with someone who has been drinking, and knows that they can call you if need be, then what is the problem. Hiding your child from the world and not letting her do anything or trying to control every detail in her life will only hurt the both of you in the end.
As a parent you need to control and not let them run wild, but at the same time let go a little and let them have fun or make mistakes that they will learn from.

[ScottGem]

And you would be wrong. This site has some recent survey results on teeage drinking:

Teen Drinking Statistics at Family Guide

While its true that most teens will try a drink, the ones who regularly drink is much less. My problem here is you are portraying something as much more prevalent that it is. And your attitude seems to be that since everyone is doing it,the parents shouldn't get too upset about it.

[J_9]

Yes, it is a part of "high school life" and if their is control as far as how often your kid goes out, she knows to never get into a vehicle with someone who has been drinking, and knows that they can call you if need be, then what is the problem.

I have to wonder how old you are. Are you still in high school? Do you have children in high school? Are you in the medical profession? If your answer is no to any of these questions you really don't have a grip on reality.

At 14 no child should be drinking, let alone binge drinking. They are still growing physically and mentally. Alcohol will stunt both physical and intellectual growth. Let alone the damage that is caused internally to the young organs such as the liver, kidneys, heart, brain, etc.

What the problem is here is that you are advocating teen alcoholism. I have 2 adult children and 1 in high school, and she is 14. None of my children drink at all and neither do any of their friends. After reading this post I discussed this with my oldest 2 and they told me that the ones who drank were not the majority, but the minority who ended up not finishing school, getting bad grades, or worse.

[kcey]

PROVOKING TEEN ALCOHOLISM?? I don't think so. For your information I have a big grip on reality, the problem is most of you don't! I couldn't care less about what you think, the issue is most of you need to open your eyes. I have a teenage daughter with straight A's, has goals, plays sports, etc. Give it up about having low grades and as far as finishing school that has nothing to do with a teenager going out every once in awhile. Maybe have a look at the parenting behind it all.

[ScottGem]

I don't understand you. You claim to have a teenager with an admirable record. Are you saying she drinks? Are you saying you are OK with that?

We are not talking about "going out every once in a while". We are talking about going out and committing a crime! It is illegal for anyone under 21 to obtain or be served alcohol. If your daughter goes out every once in a while and drinks, whether she gets drunk or not, she is breaking the law as is those providing her with drink. Are you really OK with that?

What J_9 and I are saying is you seem to be saying that the majority of teenagers drink regularly so its not something the OP or anyone else should get upset about. I can't see any other interpretation of your posts. However, the statistics I found show you are wrong about a majority of teens drinking, its actually much less than that, and even though some teens do it, it doesn't make it right.

[kcey]

J_9 has no right saying I "provoke" teen alcoholism, that is sooooo wrong. I am done and do not have to defend myself to either of you.

[J_9]

I did not say that you "provoke" teen alcoholism, I said that you seem to be "advocating" it. When you stated

then what is the problem.

That is advocating In my opinion. It IS a problem when a 14 year old goes off binge drinking. As Scott so eloquently put it, it is illegal here in the states under the age of 21 to drink alcohol or to provide alcohol to a minor.

Binge drinking tends to lead to alcoholism and sometimes the alcohol related deaths we see at college parties.

KCey, you have a teen daughter with straight A's, do you allow her to drink?


**Edit** While I do agree that education is important, I think that 14 is still to young to be saying "what is the problem."