NBA medical director address parents and teens on dangers of teen drinking
Parents are the first line of defense when it comes to educating children on the consequences of binge drinking.
On Tuesday, April 7, NBA medical director and Vestavia Hills resident Dr. Stephen Taylor drove this point home when he addressed a crowd of parents and teens on the dangers of teenage drinking and how to identify signs of addiction in young people. The event took place at Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church's Tyson Hall.
For the past 19 years, Dr. Taylor has worked as a licensed child/adolescent and addiction psychiatrist. He is also certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine as a specialist in addiction medicine, and has focused his training on specialized care of adolescents and young adults with drug and alcohol abuse, addiction illnesses and general psychiatric disorders.
Taylor engaged the audience throughout his presentation, asking teenagers to stand up and answer questions about the alcohol culture among today's youth. His presentation included a slideshow of statistics, which included the following:
- Teenagers who drink are seven times more likely to get into an alcohol related car crash than teenagers who don't drink.
- Teenagers who start drinking at 15 years of age or younger are five times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who do not.
- Teenagers who drink are more likely to become victims of assault.
Taylor revealed the three main signs of addiction are loss of control, continued use despite adverse consequences and obsessive desire and compulsive seeking. He emphasized these signs may not be as obvious as the more dramatic ones people are accustomed to recognizing.
"Teenagers who drink aren't just drinking to have fun and relax," he said. "They are drinking to get sloshed because someone has sold them on this myth that it is a good idea to have a substance destroy parts of their brain."
Taylor localized the issue by sharing facts about teen binge drinking in Alabama. In just one year, 39 homicides, 15,500 rapes, robberies and assaults, and 35,000 burglaries, larcenies and car thefts were reported to have happened in the state as a result of teenage drinking.
"You can't talk about teenage drinking without talking about teenage deaths. The two are linked very closely and go hand in hand," he said.
One of Taylor's slides showed how alcohol affects the brain in a series of stages. First, there is the loss of motor coordination and decision making skills. This stage is followed by a loss of control over emotions and increased chance of a blackout. The final stage affects heart rate, temperature, appetite and consciousness. This stage can be fatal, Taylor said, sharing several stories of teenagers who died from alcohol poisoning.
Following his presentation, the teenagers left for a breakout session. Judge Shanta Owens moderated the session led by panel of young adults: Brad Blount, Paige Castleberry, and recent VHHS graduate Joe Peterson, who lost his brother, Jake, to a drug overdose in 2011.
During this time, the parents met with Dr. Taylor for a question and answer period. Taylor shared tips with parents on how to spot signs of addiction and prevent it from happening to their children.
- Establish a trusting relationship with your child.
- Make it easy for your teens to talk honestly with you.
- Keep tabs on your child.
- Talk with you teens about alcohol facts and reasons not to drink.
- Develop and enforce clear and consistent rules.
- Set a good example regarding your own alcohol use. Model more after what you do than what you say.
- Encourage your child to develop healthy friendships and offer fun alternatives to drinking.
- Know warning signs of addiction and act promptly.
- Believe in your own power to help your child avoid alcohol or drug use.
- Help your children dissolve the myth that alcohol is a "magic potion" that will make them feel cool.
Taylor told parents that they are most influential out of of anyone on their children's behavior and left them with a final takeaway.
"You cannot gurantee the outcome of what will happen to your child. There is always that possibility that they will develop an addiction. What you can guarantee is that if something happens, it happened against all of your best efforts at prevention."
Help the Hills, an initiative of Leadership Vestavia Hills, was formed in an effort to foster open dialogue with parents, educators and community leaders about drug and alcohol use among youth. The organization hopes to provide information, tips, and strategies to help parents have mature conversations with their children about these topics. This event was the third town hall meeting Help the Hills has presented within the past year.
For more about Help the Hills, visit, leadershipvestaviahills.com.
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