How to Tell if Your Teenager Needs a Teenage Alcohol Rehab

As a parent you may surprised to see your teen being pulled for drinking. But that is not much to be surprised considering that a reputed teen treatment center at Oklahoma has pointed out that teenage drinking cases are on a definite rise.  So how do you know if your teenage child is abusing alcohol?

Symptoms and signs of alcohol abuse:

1. Smell of alcohol on the body and breath:  One of the evident signs is the smell of alcohol on the breath and body of your child. However, it goes without saying that teens today are more proficient in covering this up.
2. Bunking school: If your teen is bunking school and is not at home, you can be sure that he or she is up to something. One of them could be joining a group of friends and drinking at his or her place. It has been seen that boys tend to drink at nights or at a time between 3 pm and 6pm well before the parents could reach home from work.
3. Change in the behavior:  Teenagers tends to behave in a brash manner, they tend to rebel and become verbally and physically abuse. Complaints of your son getting into fights with local kids and other boys from the school become frequent.
4. Lying: When the teen lies and makes excuses, there are apprehensions that some of them are related to alcohol abuse on the sly.
5. Alcohol paraphernalia:  Presence of alcohol paraphernalia like bottle tops, bottles, bills from a beer or liquor shop etc can definitely rouse suspicions.
6. Stealing: This happens when the teenager is so addicted that he would do anything to get his finances in place to buy a bottle or two. He may even steal things from home or a friend's place to get money.
7. Change in friends: The alcohol addict will move to another set of friends who entertain him and encourage his drinking habits.

The risk factors for a teenager to drink at such an early age are due to the following factors according to information given by various teenage rehab programs :

1. Low parental supervision:   The parents are way too lenient and do not monitor or supervise on the kid's activity, due to which he or she takes undue advantage.
2. Broken family: If the teenager comes from a broken family where people are always bickering and fighting or when there are physical and emotional tirades between his parents, the teenager may resort to drinking as an escape from the troubles at home.
3. Strict parental discipline: As much as leniency on the part of parent is to be faulted, so is the tendency of parents to be very strict with the children. If you are too strict, the teenager begins to feel subdued. When he gets his advantage, he exploits it to the maximum, drinks a lot and then finds ways and means to feed his interest.
4. Peer pressure: Teenagers succumb to peer pressure easily. Though this is a general statement and does not apply to all, there are quite a few who give into drinks, smoking drugs with little coaxing and egging.
5. Thrill seeking attitude: Teenagers take to drinking because they want to feel like adults as they have seen their fathers and other adults drinking and making merry.
6. Family history of alcohol abuse: If a teen comes from the family of alcohol abuse, it is possible that he or she may also drink easily as a way to ‘get back' at the people who drank heavily.
7. Girls watch their mothers who drink and follow suit: Girls tend to be influenced by their mother's attitude toward drinking. If they see their moms drinking, the teenage daughter also finds it ‘cool' to drink and soon the addiction develops.

As parents, you have to closely supervise your teenage son and daughter's behavior. If found drinking, instead of being very angry and livid, be cool and explain to them firmly but lovingly about how alcohol can harm their health and reputation. If things are out of control, it is better to take these children to adolescent treatment centers where due counseling and treatment can be given to make them sober and healthier soon.