One of the issues we’re passionate about here is the role that parents play in preventing underage drinking. Time after time, studies have shown that underage drinking can impair a teen’s physical and mental health, even making the teen more prone to future problems with alcohol.
Parents can play a critical role in curbing a teen’s access to alcohol, and social-host laws reinforce that fact.
65% of teens obtain alcohol via family and friends. Parents then are the first and most important barrier between teens and alcohol. Many towns and counties have social-host ordinances, prosecuting those who are 21+ for providing alcohol at underage drinking parties.
By holding parents and older friends accountable for providing alcohol, social host laws reinforce the idea that parents should never encourage underage alcohol abuse. Furthermore, social-host laws have been found to reduce drunk-driving fatality rates among those 18-20 years old by 9%.
A person’s teen years are some of the most important, formative years of their life. Alcohol hinders this development. By following social host laws, parents remove a big obstacle in a teen’s path to adulthood.