Alcohol and risk taking: How to help your teenager stay safe

Open and honest communication, using a calm and non-judgemental tone, is the most effective method when communicating with teenagers—especially when discussing sensitive topics like drug and alcohol use. Maintaining an open dialogue means you are more likely to hear about any risk-taking behaviours from your teenager, and this in turn, provides the opportunity to discuss ways to minimise risks. For more further information about how to best communicate with your teenager, check this factsheet.

You and your teenager can discuss possible risky situations they may face when at parties, festivals, or gatherings. Plan with them what they would do to minimise their risk of harm.

When problem solving:

• Start by focusing on the risk itself. What is the risk, how would it come about?
• Then ask your teenager to think of possible solutions.
• Together, consider the pros and cons of each solution and decide on the best option.
• Make a plan to carry out the solution.
• Talk to your teen again after they’ve carried out the plan and evaluate how well it worked.
• If it worked well, encourage them to do the same in the future. If not, try out another solution and discuss how successful/unsuccessful it was.

Offer to drive your teenager and their friends to and from parties, festivals, or gatherings. This means your teenager will be less likely to drive home after drinking or get a lift with someone who has been drinking.  

• Talk to your teenager about how to spot the warning signs of risky situations and to report any situation that seems unsafe. This might include looking out for people who are drunk and wanting to 'pick a fight'. 
• Teach your teenager how to spot an emergency and ensure they know how to seek help when needed. For example, knowing where the first aid tent at a festival is and knowing emergency services numbers and who to call if someone is unconscious.
• You may also want your teenager to be familiar with the information provided in this factsheet, which explains how they can help someone in a drug-related emergency.
• You may also want to discuss the risk of drink spiking with your teenager, the importance of watching their own drinks and their friend’s drinks. For more information read our factsheet on drink spiking.

When drinking alcohol, people are more likely to make risky sexual decisions. It is important that teenagers are aware of what consenting to sex means. They need to be aware that consent needs to be provided verbally, without pressure or persuasion, that a person can change their mind at any time, and if they change their mind, then sexual activity must stop. It is also important to highlight that intoxicated people are legally unable to consent and a person could face serious consequences for having sex with someone who is intoxicated. Further information about consenting to sex can be found here. You could also discuss the potential consequences of having unprotected sex (e.g., Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and/or unwanted pregnancy), and brainstorm strategies with your teenager to reduce the chances of this occurring.

Encourage your teenager to stay close to their friends, particularly when alcohol or other drugs are involved. For example, your teenager could:

• Discourage friends from leaving the group with an unfamiliar person, suggesting instead that the new person join the group.
• Keep an eye out for any friends who disappear from the group, and make efforts to find and/or contact them.
• Arrange with friends to all go home together, and remind each other to stick to this agreement.

Get the contact details of your child’s friends and their parents so you can contact them if needed. Try to check in with the other parents in your teenager’s year group and discuss what activities you’re comfortable with and rules you think are appropriate when it comes to alcohol and other drug use.

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