As a barman, there is one thing that scares the heck out of me, serving an under aged person. This is the worst time of the year for this as well and I do not condone this practice at all.. The bars and stores are busy and you find yourself "in the weeds" as 8 to 10 will all come through the door at once. The truth is it is the most likely time to get busted for serving a minor by the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms people as well. This is no excuse, but it can happen. The biggest trouble comes when an older person orders several cocktails and takes them out to the porch out of my sight. 
When the college aged kids hit Key West for Spring Break, I hope that a lot of the parents try to talk to them about under aged drinking, but I feel their words are falling on deaf ears. Although recent studies have found that talking to kids about alcohol can lead to lower drinking rates, even among college students.
Robert Turrisi, PhD, a psychologist at
Penn State University, and colleagues gave parents booster brochures to help
them talk to their recent high school graduates about drinking before they left
for college. Four months after this intervention, students were drinking less
than their peers. In another study, Kim
Fromme, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin asked college
students to take a survey that assessed family and peer attitudes and level of
caring. They found that students who
felt that their parents were aware and cared were likely to drink less.
As students are adjusting to
campus life, peers become a stronger
influence than the parents sometinmes. In schools where there is an emphasis on athletics and where
sororities and fraternities are prevalent, drinking rates tend to be
higher. Still students tend to
overestimate how much their classmates are actually drinking and may drink more
to try to fit in. Parents can help with
a reality check, reminding students of their goals, and just letting them know
they care."
This is a part of a really good article by Lise Gervais for Public Action Management.
For college students, you will want to
know about their Spring Break plans and communicate your desire for their
safety and well being. Remember... you
have more
Having these kinds of discussions with
kids of any age can be difficult for both parent and child, but there is
help. The Partnership for A Drug-Free
America has a very informative site about the development of the teen brain and
how to start a discussion on drinking. Substances Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA.gov) has an interactive video that is worth the
time and very helpful. The American
Academy of Pediatrics website http://www.healthychildren.org also has helpful
information on talking with kids about alcohol.
The people you keep out of trouble by talking to you kids about under aged drinking goes a lot further than just the kids, it keeps a lot of people that are on the street save from drunken actions and the store keepers and bartenders that are bombarded with the students life safe and out of trouble with the law as well.
