In reference to Today Magazine, teen alcoholism is due to the need to feel wanted. Teens tend to feel like they need friends or popular people around them to feel wanted or recognized. The thing about most of these situations is that the parent does not become aware of the situation until it is too late for them to correct it. There are many signs to recognize use of alcohol or drugs. For example, “the user tends to break relationships with friends who are not involved with drinking or drugs, they participate in fewer activities with their family, they begin to hang out with people who are doing the same thing as they are, and so on.”

The major thing that happens with the child is their attitude. “The attitude of the child tends to change, causing fights among the family and others.”

Once the parent finds out about their child’s binge drinking, they often try to put an automatic stop to the situation. Yes, the child might stop drinking, for the time being. Usually they say, “I promise to do better in the future, just give me another chance.” So what does the parent do? They trust them and most always the child goes back to doing the same outburst of activity they were doing the first time they got caught. The majority of the time the child increases drinking habits more than before.

In many cases the teen might feel “pressure from family through the lectures of right and wrong, the nagging of the family, etc. In cases like these the child already knows everything that you might be telling them and it becomes irritating and makes you stress right back out.”