How to Cope With a Teenage Drinker

Alcohol abuse among teenagers has reached epidemic proportions in the United States in the past few years. Youngsters are starting to drink earlier than ever - typically at age thirteen or fourteen - and more of them, both boys and girls, are drinking to intoxication on a regular basis. "How to Cope with a Teenage Drinker" is addressed primarily to the parents of the teenage boy or girl who has developed a pattern of alcohol abuse, but it is of relevance to any friend or relative of a youngster caught in the web of uncontrolled drinking. It offers guidelines for helping the teenager recognize his or her problem, and outlines steps for kicking the habit that accounts for tens of thousands of highway deaths and nearly half of all teenage suicides every year. With sensibility and eloquence, Dr. Forrest helps parents and families face the ugly reality of a teenager's drinking problem and shows that there is a path away from alcohol and its tragic consequences, toward a healthier, more fulfilling life style, not just for the teenage drinker but for the entire family. This book should also be of use to helping professionals who work with teenagers and their families.