KIDS AND DRINKS

Hey, who wants a drink? Oh come on, just one drink won't hurt you. It's fun. It's cool. Everybody drinks, right? Wrong. Many adults enjoy a drink of wine or beer with a meal. But drinking too much alcohol is dangerous. Alcohol is a drug. In fact, it is the drug most often abused by teens.

Many kids have their first drink at an early age, as young as 10 or 11. Some see their parents or older friends drink. They think that because alcohol is so easy to get, nothing bad will happen. That's just not true.

Kids who start drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely than their non-drinking friends to become alcoholics. And kids who drink often drop out of school, get in car accidents, start fights, or join in crimes. If you're a kid, alcohol is guaranteed to mess up your life. Read this article to find out more about kids and alcohol, including how to tell whether you or someone you know has a problem.