Will you help children be healthy and safe? You don’t have to join a group or March on the Capital to create change. Here are some of the simple lifestyle steps you could take to make your community a safer place for children.
Secure the alcohol in your home.
- Lock up the area where you keep your alcohol.
- Count bottles/keep track of what you have.
- Store alcohol in safe places that are not seen or accessible to youth.
- Keep no more beer in the refrigerator than you drink in one sitting (see responsible drinking guidelines below).
If you choose to drink and are over the age of 21, learn about the lower risk drinking guidelines. This will lower how much alcohol you store in your refrigerator or on the counter and will teach children that alcohol is dangerous to young people and should be respected throughout life. Modeling lower risk drinking for other parents and adults will also change the way they view and consume alcohol.
Lower Risk Drinking Guidelines for Those Over Age 21
Background Information
- Moderate alcohol consumption consists of no more than 1 standard drink per day for women and no more than 2 standard drinks per day for men.
- Heavy drinking is the consumption of more than 3 standard drinks on any day or more than 7 standard drinks per week for women, or more than 4 standard drinks on any day or more than 14 standard drinks per week for men.
- Binge drinking is the consumption within 2 hours of 4 or more standard drinks for women and 5 or more standard drinks for men.
The NIAAA defines a standard drink in the following way:
- Beer: 12 oz. at about 5% alcohol content by volume
- Table Wine: 5 oz. at about 12% alcohol content by volume
- Liquor: 1.5 oz. at about 40% alcohol content by volume
People Who Should Not Drink Alcohol
- Individuals who cannot restrict their drinking to moderate levels.
- Anyone younger than the legal drinking age. Besides being illegal and leading to often dangerous behavior, alcohol consumption increases the risk of brain damage and developmental problems in youth.
- Women who are pregnant or who may be pregnant. Drinking during pregnancy, especially in the first few months of pregnancy, may result in negative behavioral or neurological consequences in the offspring. No safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy has been established.
- Individuals taking prescription or over-‐the-‐counter medications that can interact with alcohol.
- Individuals with certain specific medical conditions.
- Individuals who plan to drive, operate machinery, or take part in other activities that could
cause injury or death.
Excessive (i.e. heavy, high-‐risk, or binge) drinking has no benefits, and the hazards of heavy alcohol intake are well known. Excessive drinking increases the risk of cirrhosis of the liver, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract, breast and colon cancer, injury, and violence.
Speak to other adults in your circles (family, faith, school, neighborhood, civic organizations, recreational leagues, etc.) about how important it is to secure and monitor alcohol in the home. Teach them about the risks that home access pose to children’s health and how prevalent the problem is.
Check out Why Lock It Up for talking points when talking to others.