ALCOHOL

• 37% of drinkers started by 6th grade.
• 9% of children have already been drunk by 6th grade.
• This is important to know, because addiction to alcohol is short - term.

• Accidents: 50% of accidents are alcohol related.
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
• Violence related to alcohol abuse (alcohol is related to 1/2 of all homicides.)
• 50% of suicides are alcohol related.
• Alcohol takes a toll on the whole family.
• When alcohol use goes up, condom use goes down, contributing to an increase in teen pregnancies and HIV infection.

• The U.S. spends about $136 billion a year dealing with public and private health consequences related to alcohol.

• Peer to peer teaching is the most effective way to deal with alcohol awareness.  Bring some teenagers into your classroom to talk about substance abuse.
• Have students collect articles from the newspaper pertaining to alcohol related accidents--this will increase awareness.

• Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant (it slows your ability to reason.)
• Judgment is impaired, and also, you experience decrease in inhibitions.
• Alcohol affects the part of your brain that controls large motor coordination.
• Loss of memory.
• Dehydration.

• Shortened life expectancy
• Liver damage
• Malnutrition (alcohol destroys B vitamins)
• Brain damage
• Common cause of miscarriages in women
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
• Increased cancer risk
• impotence

• Caused from drinking during pregnancy.
• Non reversible
• 100% preventable
• Estimated lifetime cost: $1.4 million per child
• Physical effects
• Craniofacial Abnormalities
  a.) small, close set eyes
  b.) flat face
• low birth weight
• slow growth rate
• microencephaly (small head size)
• heart abnormalities
• memory problems
• shortened attention spans
• hyperactivity
• impaired judgment
• impulsive behavior
• leading cause of mental retardation in the U.S

• 11 million children live with alcoholic parents
• Children need to be taught that
• alcoholism is a disease
• parents lose ability to control their drinking
• parents can't stop drinking without help
• parents can't control their behavior when they have been drinking
• it is not the child's fault that the parents are alcoholics
• children can't force their parents to stop drinking
• Teach children of alcoholics the seven "C"s
• I didn't CAUSE it.
• I can't CURE it.
• I can't CONTROL it.
• I can take CARE of myself.
• I can COMMUNICATE my feelings.
• I can make healthy CHOICES.
• I can CELEBRATE being me.