<p>Obviously this does not to play to everybody, because some kids aren’t into the alcohol scene. But I’m writing this as a sort of warning. Most parents feel that kids go to the hospital are the “binge drinkers”. Usually its the complete opposite (the kids drinking for the first time). EVERY single incident I have ever heard of a kid going to the hospital has been due to LIQUOR. I feel like many parents just say drinking is bad but dont make a distinction between the two. Beer you are able to “feel” your limit while liquor it takes around 20 minutes. So when kids are pregaming they will feel like they are fine and take a few more shots but will put them over their max and they black out. Although Im only a sophomore, I have NEVER gotten sick because I stick to beer and I take cabs so no one drives. But more importantly – All alcohol isn’t the same, tell your kids to SAY NO to LIQUOR.</p>
<p>good point.</p>
<p>“Whisky and beer ,never fear-but beer and whisky,mighty risky”. I may not remember “who the dish ran away with” but there’s a rhyme I’m unlikely to forget. </p>
<p>A problem (among many) with rookie drunks is that they don’t know or respect the cumulative effects of alchohol. Respectful sipping or even slowly nursing beer is not the same as chugging or shooting a beer, or what we simply called “drinking”,we weren’t there to party or dance-we were there to drink. If you shoot a beer in 10 seconds or less, the same amount of alchohol is in your system in the same amount of time as gulping a cocktail made according to the recipe. Don’t let beer fool you. It is alchohol and you can abuse it quite easily. It always reminds me of Richie being questioned by Howard after an obvious night of drinking. “Dad,It was just little glasses of beer.” How many glasses did you have? “Sixty-seven”. </p>
<p>Now the basic problem with mixed drinks is -who’s mixing them?and for what purpose? And please, please parents of daughters,teach them never to drink “punch” or a “fruit drink” which some called “trashcan punch”. We were more obvious and accurate and called it “freshman girl punch”.</p>
<p>A closely related alchohol problem is the lowered or impaired judgment and inhibitions that come from drinking. Suddenly other lifestyle choices don’t seem quite as far-fetched or out there or improper. Although alchohol poisoning remains a great fear of all parents, I believe out of character conduct can be and is more life and health threatening to a far larger group of students.</p>
<p>Gee, I hope we raised her right.</p>
<p>I have been thinking about the beer vs. liquor distinction as we head off soon to Engineering Scholar Days at Tulane, for admitted engineering students w merit awards etc.<br>
S will be dorming it for one-two nights. I find myself wondering what role, if any, alcohol will play on those evenings. S is not a drinking type of kid - not a goody2shoes, but not into that scene in hs. Was thinking of telling him if alcohol is part of the scene, to choose beer for the reasons mentioned above if he doesn’t want to opt out totally.</p>
<p>Would love to think that hosts on these occasions would not be leading the kids into the drinking party scene, but figure that’s naive.</p>
<p>Comments/suggestions?</p>
<p>I would echo all sentiments above, especially about warning kids about impaired judgement and loss of inhibitions from drinking. The student two doors down from my son in his dorm at USC committed suicide a couple months ago (jumped out of an 8th floor window). My wife called the police and they said they ruled it an accident because the boy’s alcohol level was so high (but he had written a note on someone’s dry erase board on their door just before jumping, so it seems more like a rash decision than an accident). My son used to play ping pong with this kid every week and said he seemed fairly normal, had decent grades first semester, etc. I would suspect that alcohol played a large part in his death. </p>
<p>A few kids (my son, not included) from the dorm had seen this kid the evening before, just sitting by himself after he had been drinking, and they figured he would be OK and could get back to the dorm by himself. He jumped at about 5:00 AM. Now they feel very guilty, even though they did not do anything wrong, for not grabbing him and bringing him back to the dorm. What a tragedy! He was an only child, from India, apparently from a fairly poor family. His parents must be feeling terrible. We have prayed a lot for them.</p>
<p>jmmom,</p>
<p>I would suggest your son ask for a Coke, pop, soda, or whatever else you call it (but that is another thread). I drank somewhat in college, but am essentially a teetotaller now. I find it more acceptable for others in a social setting if I have SOMETHING in my hand so they do not feel so uncomfortable (not that 18 year olds should be drinking anyway) if they decide to have a beer. If your son ultimately decides to have a beer every now and then, he will still need to learn some strategies to minimize or overcome peer pressure to drink excessively while not coming across as a “goody2shoes.”</p>
<p>I remember when I first stayed overnight at an incoming transfer student weekend at the University of Florida I was assigned a roommate who said to a couple other transfer students, “Hey, come on over to my room after the required activities tonight, because its snowing in my room” (he had cocaine). I told him that if he had any drugs in my room that he needed to remove them immediately or I would call the police. Obviously, there comes a point where goody2shoes is appropriate!</p>
<p>dadoftrojan, what a heartbreaking story.</p>
<p>I did not drink for the whole first semester of freshman year due to concerns about making good grades. Went to plenty of parties though. I usually just grabbed a beer cup and filled it with water. Nobody ever noticed or cared, as I recall. If anyone were to comment it would have been easy to say “pacing myself” or “I have a test tomorrow” or “I’m on medication” or some other white lie-- all of which I’ve taught my kids-- but I do not recall it ever coming up.</p>
<p>Nothing will permanently instill a moderate alcohol consumption attitude better than experiencing 2-3 frat parties <em>stone cold sober</em>, with everyone around you looking like an idiot.</p>
<p>College students, who drink, especially freshmen, seem prone to drink any combination that they can get their hands on. My freshman year, back in the stone ages, it could be any combination of beer, wine and hard liquor. Drugs were not as prevalent back then as they are now, but that also plays into the mix nowadays.</p>
<p>It doesn’t always take a lot of alcohol…it just may be the combination that gets consumed.</p>
<p>you must remember though, “beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you’re in the clear.”</p>
<p>Even if drinking is part of the scene, you don’t have to drink. Nobodys going to think youre the biggest dork at the party if you don’t have a beer or a few shots of jack. Just grab a soda and continue on with your night… and you’ll do fine. Plus its even more fun the day after, when you can tell your friends what stupid things they did the night before.</p>
<p>but it’s even more fun to actually do the stupid things.</p>
<p>try it sometime, you’ll be amused.</p>
<p>ha i have, don’t worry. It sucks to be the sober one at the party but that’s just my opinion. Of course you’re not going to be the biggest dork, you’re at a party.</p>
<p>jmmom: Last year, as my son was making his recruiting visits, alcohol was a huge part of the experience. He was not a drinker in HS at all, but found it easier to take a beer and nurse it along, rather than try to swim upstream. It was probably more important to him back then to “get along” because he was an athlete, looking to connect with a small sub-set of the campus environment. But, if you are comfortable with him nursing a beer, it is a comfortable way to go. (Spoken as a paernt, not a moderator!)</p>
<p>Thank you, concerneddad. I believe your S is where my S will be going, so that is a big help. ;)</p>
<p>if you have a coke or orange juice in a red solo cup, most ppl will think its a mixed drink anyway [roman coke or screwdriver respectively], better than carrying water around like sbmom said. just my opinion if you dont want to take the drinking route</p>
<p>haha that’s a decent idea but still, you can’t say that being sober at a party you’ll have as good a time as you do drunk.</p>
<p>uuuhhh…never mind…(see, Cangel’s chill pills ARE working. I AM getting better.)</p>
<p>i dont know what kind of parties you go to gta255… If they’re frat parties, they’re bound to suck in the first place. (the kind of party where everyone drinks so they can be more social and meet more people) I’m used to the 300 some people parties where everyone knows each other and you don’t have to be drunk to have a good time…regular parties… some i’ve drank at, some i haven’t… and I’ve had just as much fun, if not more, at the ones i didn’t drink at. If i want a drink I’ll go to the bar. simple as that.</p>
<p>When I opened S’s freezer when he lived in a house at college, it was crammed full of vodka. I guess he learned something from that “hard to Freeze” science fair project in 4th grade. Roommates were all hardworking engineering majors, didn’t look like any party animals to me. But apparently they all drank. And we lived many hours away. A good reason to pick a college where few kids have cars on campus.</p>