Binge drinking and kids...

Allison Morris has created and produced this graphic containing information about binge drinking. She asked for me to post this on my blog and I'm happy to oblige. This is great information... Thanks, Allison for your submission.

The Dangers of Binge Drinking

created and produced by Allison Morris

If you're a student, or just around college student age, you're probably all to familiar with the phrase "binge drinking." Whether you partake in a little excessive imbibing yourself, or you just know people who do, the term "binge drinking" tends to be overused and completely saturated in the minds of many of those who are at or around age 21.

While the college student demographic may find the term binge drinking—and all the cautionary tales surrounding the concept—to be almost devoid of meaning now, the fact is that, with more and more kids overusing alcohol at younger ages, even the most seasoned drinkers would do well to learn a little about the phenomenon.

"Binge drinking" really refers to how many drinks someone has consumed over a certain period of time; for women, bingeing is consuming four or more drinks in two hours or less, for men it's five drinks over the same time period. And while the immediate risks, such as blacking out, vomiting, or passing out, are generally known and accepted among binge drinkers, some of the related effects aren't always as apparent. Binge drinkers tend to have higher incidence of drunk driving, STDs, and accidental pregnancies, to name just a few. The attached infographic takes a peek into the world of binge drinking, as well as what some of its lesser known repercussions are.

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THANK YOU, Allison and www.onlineeducation.net for making this graphic available.

TO MY READERS:

Currently, I am involved in the Care for Kids program which is holding a fundraiser June 2nd. The money received as a result of the planned event will be donated to a fund that will provide recovery care for kids between the ages of 11-17 years of age.

When I think of binge drinking I think about the kids in this age range because they are more likely to "party hardy" after a football game or "get wasted" after the prom. Their drinking is sometimes limited to weekends or events, so they have a tendency to drink more alcohol in a short amount of time. It's a dangerous situation for them.

Dr. Gloria Montgomery recently posted on her fundraising site:

---"NATIONWIDE EPIDEMIC! 6 in 10 high schools and 1 in 3 middle schools are now drug-infected. Younger teens now have readier access to prescription drugs than marijuana. Drugs are more popular than cigarettes among high school students. On average, 47% drink alcohol; and 40% percent use drugs, including prescription drugs. In 2012, private schools and public schools weighted equally in these statistics. Treatment centers can cost upwards of $50,000, some more than $100,000 per 30-days treatment."---

 

I am a product of the 60s when everyone was doing something that they shouldn't be doing. Everything was experimental and the children (young adults) seemed to have no fear of the potential consequences. Heck, at that time, no one really knew what the consequences were because it was never talked about or seen on TV or in the newspaper. I never inbibed, but was always observing and protecting those who did. I preferred my wine to drugs, but still had such a need to control that I seldom drank to the point of having that dreaded hangover.

I remember back when my children were teenagers and I suspected them to be smoking a bit of marijuana. It was during the time that Riley was drinking himself out of the Navy, out of his civilian job and out of our house. I was distracted. But that isn't an excuse because I thought -- "It's just a little mari-jo. Thank goodness they aren't drunks." Now I think -- I was so very naive.

My son became a responsible young man who dabbled in drugs like cocaine and meth. But, his love of his job prevented him from taking the white stuff to an extreme. Yet, at the young age of 43, he died as a result of alcohol abuse. He died from the legally obtained liquid poison called booze. Did his early experimentation with marijuana eventually lead to his death? I don't know and will probably never know.

My daughter has also experimented with drugs beyond marijuana. She decided the life was not for her and in her early twenties stopped using any drugs or alcohol at all. She now will have a couple of drinks when out with friends, but prefers to be the designated driver.

They say 20/20 hindsight is flawless. I don't know who "they" are, but I think "they" are right. As a parent, I don't know if I could have done anything that would have stopped my kids from experimenting with drugs. I do know that things could have gone in a much worse direction than they did. I'm just lucky.

If my kids had become addicted to any substances, I would have been extremely grateful for a program such as "Care for Kids."