EENS &
THIRD IN A
SERIES
U SE T
TOUGH TOPICS
Last month, we talked to local teens about underage drinking.

Now, we’ve turned to local parents to get their points of view. In
collaboration with Baltimore’s Child, we also conducted a short online
survey and some respondents agreed to be interviewed. Here’s what
they had to say.

Ninety-three percent of surveyed parents
said they do not let their children drink, and
97 percent of parents said they frequently
talk to their kids about drugs and alcohol.

But after talking with some of these local
parents, we learned that their stance on
underage drinking is not as black and white
as these percentages suggest. In fact, there’s
a lot of gray area when it comes to what
parents allow and what they do not.

Fifty percent of surveyed parents said
they allow their kids to have supervised
parties, for example, and of the 7 percent
of parents who let their teens drink, all said
they also supply the alcohol.

Beth from D.C., who has two middle
schoolers, believes her teens shouldn’t
drink — but only up to a point. “Our rule
in our house for any alcohol consumption is
18 and up,” she says. Her reasoning? “If you
can fight for our country at 18, then you
28 WashingtonFAMILY MAY 2019
should be able to drink a beer.” She also adds
that she lets her teens drink wine during
communion at church.

A., from Arlington, first allowed her kids
to drink around 15 and 16 while vacationing
abroad as a family. “We traveled a lot to for-
eign countries, where we did allow them to
drink when they were with us,” she says. “So,
because that happened, it was pretty hard to
not let anything happen back here.”
For S., a mom from Westminster, her own
attitudes about drinking affect the rules
that she and her husband have for their
two teens, ages 13 and 15. “My husband and
I actually don’t drink much, just socially
every couple of months,” she says. “So, it’s
not something we allow, but we are also not
big drinkers or keep [alcohol] in the house.”
G., a mom from Towson, says she
keeps it “straightforward” with her 14- and
17-year-olds. “Underage drinking is not
LOCAL PARENTS
WEIGH IN ON
UNDERAGE DRINKING
BY BRITNI PETERSEN