<p>
</p>
<p>Actually, moderate drinking of SOME things, such as red wine, lowers BG for T2 diabetics.</p>
<p>Sugary rum drinks are another matter.</p>
<p>Was channel surfing and came across a show called Campus PD. It’s basically a Cops which focuses on college campuses.</p>
<p>It was scary as heck and now I’m rather depressed. Some of the alcohol stats they showed in captions were astounding as it relates to alcohol poisoning, binge drinking, etc. The behavior captured on camera was astounding.</p>
<p>^^ Let’s not forget that kids who don’t go to college drink too.</p>
<p>As a matter of fact, for some kids, drinking (especially binge-drinking) is worse during high school.</p>
<p>^^^^May be, but as a parent of a kid about to go off to college, that is where my focus is. </p>
<p>A friend of ours lost their son to alcohol poisoning 3 weeks after he arrived at college. He had shown no prior tendency to binge drink. They were absolutely devastated, hearts irretrievably broken. No matter how well you’ve educated your kids, no matter how sensible you think your kids are, you can never be 100 percent sure they won’t make a foolish mistake which will have tragic consequences. It’s scary. </p>
<p>I know that worrying about “what ifs” is generally unproductive, but sometimes I can’t help it.</p>
<p>And if parents had no idea, what make them think schools could do a better job of keeping their kids safe.</p>
<p>Nrds, </p>
<p>I am with you about the perils of binge-drinking. Please, don’t get me wrong… It worries me, too, as I send my first child off to college next year. I just wanted to point out that there are kids out there (some cohorts of my son’s) who are not even planning to go on college. They are already involved in binge-drinking and other various illegal activities. I am happy that my son is not among them, and feel he has a better chance at success by going away to a college campus. (And we live in a decent suburb.)</p>
<p>My belief is that illegal or not, underage drinking exists. Whether it is among high-schoolers or college-aged students, we need to accept that it DOES happen. Sure, some kids will not partake in it; but I believe the vast majority of kids will try it, at least once. We need to educate them on the particulars of binge-drinking especially… the fact that hard alcohol is much more lethal, the signs of alcohol poisoning, the impairment that may result in risky sexual behaviors, etc.</p>
<p>Edited to Add: I am so very sorry about your friend’s son. I do not feel that I am immune to such tragedies. Unfortunately, it happens all too often. I will try to educate my kids as much as possible, and then I will send them off and pray to God they will be okay.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My friends established a foundation in memory of their son which aims not to address underage drinking so much as binge drinking/alcohol misuse/hazing and puts an emphasis on educating kids on the signs of alcohol poisoning. Basically what you said above.</p>
<p>Do your friends have a website? I am actively seeking information that I can present to my sons about the dangers of binge-drinking. I remember watching an episode of Oprah in which parents who lost their children to such drinking tragedies explained what kids need to be on the lookout for (like “don’t leave a friend who passed out alone.”) I would be grateful for any links or resources you can provide.</p>