| In a recent survey 30 percent of high school | | | | Most likely, if you're a single parent or dual-parent |
| seniors reported that they had driven after heavy | | | | household living a normal life (whatever that is?), |
| drinking (five or more drinks in a row) or | | | | your underage kids aren't coping with the side |
| knowingly rode in a vehicle with a friend who was | | | | effects of celebrity and paparazzi. But they are |
| drinking. | | | | coping with peer pressure, wanting to fit in and be |
| What about the teens who had one, two, or | | | | cool, and a myriad of other side effects of real |
| three drinks? Certainly, those percentages are | | | | teen and young adult life. |
| much higher. | | | | Underage drinking at bars happens every day |
| According to attorney Michael Monheit, Esq., | | | | especially in college towns where the drinking age |
| "underage drinking and driving is a serious | | | | is 21. Who can wait? That's an eternity when |
| problem." | | | | there are fake IDs or no IDs required, which is a |
| "Of course, the media doesn't help when they | | | | huge liability for bars serving minors. |
| exploit underage celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and | | | | The effects of underage drinking and driving are |
| her girlfriends who are out partying every night | | | | huge. Drinking alcohol dulls the senses while giving |
| and smashing their Cadillac SUVs into poles and | | | | the underage drinker a false sense of bravado |
| people," continues Monheit. Is Ms. Lohan an | | | | and laissez-faire...who me? Drinking alcohol |
| exception? | | | | diminishes responsibilities for self and others. |
| Underage drinking is more common than you | | | | Your kids are no longer strapped to your chest in |
| would think. What does it say about our society | | | | a baby carrier so giving them some ground rules |
| that by the time Lohan turns 21-- the legal age | | | | and values are the first step. Then again, how |
| for drinking -- she's been in and out of rehab | | | | many of them have the self-esteem and courage |
| more than once. Monheit explains that "Rehab | | | | to tell their friends that, no, they are not going to |
| even seems to be a status symbol among the | | | | have a beer at a party; not going to play popular |
| rich, famous, and perpetually drunk." Thus, not | | | | drinking games; or not go into a bar that turns |
| only are parents comparing notes about what | | | | the other cheek while serving minors alcoholic |
| colleges their kids attend but also what underage | | | | beverages without closely checking IDs. |
| drinking rehab centers have the best programs. | | | | |