Teenage Girls & Binge Drinking

A report released just this week by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found some very concerning binge drinking trends among our high school daughters. Binge drinking was defined as the act of consuming four or more alcoholic drinks during a single episode of drinking. The report found that among 7,536 females in grades 9-12 almost 20% reported having engaged in binge drinking. Binge drinking increased by grade. 13% of the 9th grade girls reported binge drinking while while 27% of the 12th grade girls were binge drinking.

What is going on here? Why are so many of our girls putting themselves in risky situations? Well hear me out as I explain at least one of the contributing factors. The CDC research found that there is a trickle down effect of drinking. In other words, drinking among high school girls closely mirrors that of the adult females in their lives.

The message here is that your daughters are watching you very carefully. They are watching to see how much alcohol you drink and listening to what your attitudes about drinking are. So mothers, please don’t forget how powerful you are in the lives of your teen daughters.