Family Talk About Drinking Offers Resources for Parents

With prom and graduation season around the corner, now is an ideal time for parents to talk with their children about underage drinking and making responsible choices.

While this can often be a challenging conversation, a recent GfK Roper Youth Report shows once again that parents are  the strongest influence on teens' decisions about drinking alcohol and have been for more than 20 years.

To help them have this important discussion, Anheuser-Busch has partnered with MJ Corcoran, a certified parent coach and educator to enhance the Family Talk About Drinking Program, which helps parents build trust and have meaningful conversations with their children about alcohol.

The good news is that it is never too late to start these conversations. MJ offers parents of teenagers several tips on how to facilitate these talks during this season of celebrations.

• Find windows of opportunity to bring up this topic. When the first party invitation arrives, broach the subject or continue the conversation.
• Ask open-ended questions to get teens thinking about what they would do if they're offered a drink and the potential consequences.  For example, “If there is drinking at a party, what will you do?” or “If your friends wanted to drink, how would you handle it?”
• Set clear boundaries and encourage good decision-making, but reinforce that no matter what happens, your children can call you for help.
• Texting is not enough! When your teen is at a prom or graduation party, check in with a phone call instead of a text to encourage greater accountability. 

For more tips from MJ, visit YouTube and download the Family Talk About Drinking Parent Guide at www.facebook.com/ABFamilyTalk.

The Family Talk About Drinking Facebook page provides additional details on how parents can match  and adjust their approach to their child's cognitive stage, as they grow and mature, , along with more tips and resources for parents as part of a comprehensive program that focuses on a community of support for parents.

To help build awareness for this resource and reach parents directly, Anheuser-Busch is supporting this program with advertising on Education.com and proactive outreach to media and influencers nationwide.  MJ recently completed 38 interviews with television and radio stations and is helping facilitate a dialogue with 15 parent bloggers who will serve as Family Talk About Drinking ambassadors.

For more than 30 years, Anheuser-Busch has been an industry leader when it comes to alcohol responsibility.  Anheuser-Busch first launched the Family Talk About Drinking program more than 20 years ago to address the topic of underage drinking prevention in a relevant way.