Having the Conversation

Watch these videos to find out about some students' alcohol discussions with parents.

There’s a great deal of misinformation about alcohol, social drinking, and alcohol abuse. It can be a powerful thing for parents to talk with their sons and daughters about the potential risks associated with alcohol use. As you talk to young adults about alcohol, you’ll be able to give them accurate information about drinking at MCC as well as share your beliefs and hopes for them.

As you go through this section, imagine how the conversation might look if it was between you and your sons and daughters.

Why talk to your sons and daughters?
College students believe many myths about drinking. These myths can create dangerous beliefs which in turn can lead to dangerous situations.

For example, most college students believe that drinking coffee will help to sober you up, making you less drunk.

This is not true and can lead to situations where your sons and daughters take dangerous risks (such as drinking more or driving drunk) because they have just had a cup of coffee.

College students often begin drinking socially and think they can handle it on a regular basis while at the same time keeping things in perspective. There are long and short-term consequences of such experimentation.

It only takes a single episode of intoxication to experience life-changing consequences like rape, accidents, and arrest.

We are not so naïve that we think parents talking with their college students about alcohol use will put an end to alcohol consumption. However, you should do everything in your power to discourage underage drinking, or at least, to encourage responsible behavior that does not put your sons and daughters at risk of serious negative consequences.

Watch these videos to find out what college administrators think about the importance of parent/student communication about alcohol.

Power of Parenting at Metropolitan Community College was developed with support from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety, the Nebraska Prevention Center for Alcohol & Drug Abuse and in part by Grant #93.243 under the Strategic Prevention Framework-Partnership for Success Grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Prevention through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and Region 6 Behavioral Healthcare.

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