<p>My kids didn’t drink in high school, and most of our friends with teenagers did not condone teenage drinking. My first real exposure to the effects of parental encouragement/enabling came when DS started college; more specifically, his experience on a D1 varsity team. The level at which these guys drank, on a regular basis, was astounding, but what was even more astounding was the parental attitude. Many of the parents lived within driving distance of campus, and would get together for football games in the fall and our sons’ games during the rest of the year. All of these events were heavily lubricated, and the parents made sure to have plenty of beer for the guys (the amounts and types were coordinated by email). The annual parent tailgate was held just off-campus, so that there would be no issues with those pesky campus police. It wasn’t until there was a serious alcohol-related incident with one of the players that the coach cracked down, and the parents – ever so reluctantly – went along and planned “alcohol-free” events. But we parents did get together before or after the official events at a bar, and there was a direct and positive correlation between the parents who got hammered and the guys who, according to DS, drank the most.</p>
<p>Certainly, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support the impression that kids from strict homes go wild in college, but it’s simply not consistent with our experience with this team.</p>