Being A Role Model

Think about how you are a role model for your child, they learn a lot from how you behave. If you drink and have alcohol in the home, think about how much you drink and how it affects you. Take time to check you are drinking within safe limits.

Many people enjoy drinking alcohol within safe limits. Others see alcohol as a way of managing stress or difficult emotions. Try and show your child positive ways to manage feelings and events.

You may have had negative experiences of alcohol, either your own drinking or someone else’s. This might make it more difficult for you to talk to your child about alcohol, or make you more concerned that they will drink. You could use your experience to help explain things to your child.

If you need to talk about your own experiences with alcohol, you can find lots of useful information including a support line at Drinkaware.

Talking & Listening

Make sure your child feels they can talk to you. Open honest conversations help them to know they can do this. The conversation can feel more relaxed if you are both doing something you enjoy together, you could be making a cake, walking the dog or playing a game.

• Offer time and space.
• Help them understand some of the risks associated with drinking alcohol – be honest about your own experiences.
• When you talk to your child about alcohol you’ll get an idea of how much they know. They may have questions.
• Encourage healthy activities that your child enjoys doing. They’re less likely to drink at a young age when they’re busy enjoying hobbies and interests. Have a look at some free activities you can do in Norfolk.
• Active Norfolk has some low cost sport clubs. These are often held in secondary schools and there are also groups running during the school holidays

It’s understandable that you may want to give your child more freedom as they grow but stick to boundaries that you have at home and when they are out. Agree these together, like what time they come home, how far they can go from home. Reward your child for keeping to boundaries.

When you let your child make choices you are helping them grow and learn. Show them you understand how difficult it can be when they feel pressured or just want to feel part of a group. You could say "I remember feeling I had to do something I didn’t want to, do you feel like that?"

Remind your child of what they’re good at and why you are proud of them. Feeling confident about themselves can help in building self-esteem and in making good decisions.