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It's almost inevitable that at some point your child will have to say "yes" or "no" to alcohol. He may be taken by surprise when it happens. He may be trying hard to fit in with a cool crowd. He'll have trouble thinking up good responses from scratch. That's why he needs to have some answers at the ready.
“Kids shouldn’t go into lengthy or weak-sounding explanations,” says Paul Coleman. “Answers like ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea…. My parents wouldn’t like it….’ invite a debate, and your child’s resolve may weaken if the other person keeps trying to talk him into a drink.”
The best strategy, says Coleman, is to practice short, direct replies: “No way! That’s crazy. My parents will ground me for a month.”
“If he keeps saying no, he’s not as likely to be pressured as much or as regularly,” says Coleman.
Anthony Wolf points out that saying "no" immediately makes kids different from many of their peers-exactly what most adolescents don't want. "Drinking or not drinking is one of the things that separates kids once they get into adolescence," he says. "None of the things they say will completely work, if their aim is that those words won't set them apart." ." If your child does turn away from kids who drink, realize he may need extra emotional support.
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