When children go through adolescents, their bodies and their emotions go through a tremendous change. Teens are under constant peer pressure, an intense need to conform and fit in with their peer group. At the same time, they’re discovering their independence and are beginning to break away from their parents. One of the ways they exert their independence is to engage in behavior that is risky and sometimes a little destructive. Unfortunately, they do not have the maturity to go with the independence and often times do not make good choices.
A child’s brain continues to develop into their early twenties. During this development, teens experience a wide range of behaviors that are often destructive. Curiosity often rules over common sense and the need to push to the next thrill becomes paramount to them.
Teens also do not have a realistic sense of mortality. They feel invincible. They think that they can't be touched by all the stories they’ve heard of teens that have been hurt or killed through drugs or alcohol because it happened to someone else. Those realities seem almost untouchable to them. This gives them a false sense of security to take bigger risks.
For a parent, this age is especially scary. Every time your child walks out the door or gets into a car with a friend you worry that they will be faced with making a decision to drink and ultimately make a bad choice that could end up costing them their life.
The truth is, no matter what we as parents say to our children, over 60% of high school seniors admit to drinking alcohol at least once a week. Many of them have become crafty at hiding this fact even from the parent with the most watchful eye.
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