For some reason, binge drinking is higher in America than anywhere else. Many experts believe it is because of the legal drinking age being set at 21. Some feel it is due to the culture and attitude toward alcohol in the home. And others believe it can be attributed to both.
According to a fact sheet released by the CDC (Center for Disease Control), about 90% of the alcohol consumed by Americans under age 21 is through binge drinking. 1 in 6 American adults binge drinks approximately 4 times a month. They consume about eight drinks per each of those binges. While binge drinking is more common among adults aged between 18 and 34, the 65 and older bingers do it more often.
The culture of alcohol in America.
Recent research from the WHO (World Health Organization) cites both age and culture as a factor. They point out that America’s legal age of 21 doesn’t give parents the opportunity to introduce proper alcohol consumption to their children. In many countries outside the U.S., it is common for younger teens to drink some wine or beer at the dinner table. The WHO found that while European teens drank more often, only 1 in 10 occasions resulted in intoxication. The opposite was found of American teens. Approximately half of those numbers ended up inebriated.
Public health officials believe that Europeans drink more responsibly because it is not seen as taboo. The act of consuming alcohol is encouraged, respected, and monitored. Here in America, teens go crazy once they get their hands on alcohol, because of its unattainability. They know the effects of alcohol. They like it. And they feel they may not be able to re-experience those effects anytime soon, so they binge. College kids do it because they live in a world of “partay!”—where drinking and drinking games rule at the end of the day.
Why do adults drink?
There are a lot of reasons why American adults drink. The most common one is that life is stressful. After a long day of work, grownups want to unwind. Alcohol relieves their tension. Many have kids. Raising children can be very stressful. Some of those parents never get a moment away from their kids. Drinking is a way for them to escape from their stress. And a rare night out with friends and wine is a good time.
Binge drinking: a learned behavior.
So we know why teens and college students binge drink, but why would an adult do so?
Why not drink more responsibly? Why doesn’t binge drinking end once you know that you can have it anytime? When there’s nobody pressuring you to chug, chug, chug.
Excessive drinking is a learned habit (a bad one)—and bad habits are difficult to break. By not learning to drink responsibly at an early age, we are, in effect, learning to drink irresponsibly. That stays with us throughout life. Add to that our beliefs that we need alcohol to relax and we have a basis for life-long abuse.
Things you can do to make sure your teen avoids binge drinking?
- As with anything, having a serious talk with your child is the first step. And know that that one conversation is not the only one.
- Revisit the topic often. Remind them of the dangers of underage drinking.
- Keep an open dialogue with your loved ones. Let them know that you’ve experienced the same types of events and pressures that they may be experiencing.
- Check up on them. Constantly. If you see any changes in their behavior or signs of substance abuse—address it immediately.
- Install a high-quality mobile monitoring spy app on their cell phones. A top spy app can give you great insight into their real life as well as their digital one.
What can good cell phone tracking software do for you?
A top cell phone spy app gives you total access to your teenager’s:
- Emails
- Call logs
- Social media activity
- Pictures
- Videos
- GPS location
- Texts
- SMS messages
- More
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