Yesterday we got a telephone call in the office asking us about gummy bears and alcohol. I thought, "oh no, what now!" After doing a Google search, I found that a lot of people knew about infusing gummy bears with alcohol and not only did I see hundreds of references to this, but also recipes, how to videos and how to serve the gummy bears. This is just the latest in a long list of ways that kids, teens and young adults use alcohol and as a parent it's frightening. The way we get in front of trends like these is making sure that we have conversations with our kids about the dangers of underage drinking and to let them know what our expectations as parents are of our children. And those exectations need to be clear! Sometimes we think our kids "know" we don't want them drinking, but have you really told them you don't want them drinking? If your child is 12, they have likely been asked to drink at a party or at someone's house. 12 is the average age that kids try alcohol for the first time in Arizona. What would your 12 year old say if they were asked today? Make sure you know the answer and talk with your kids about drinking. If you don't know what to say, visit our conversations at any age page.
