As parents of teenagers we often hear, “but dad, everyone is doing it!” Even though it is not a good idea, they are often correct. But in Lodi, when it comes to alcohol use in teens, the truth is most are not. In the last Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 71% of Lodi High School students say that they had not had even a drink of alcohol in the last 30 days. This is awesome and something that you should talk with your kids about.
In that same survey, we saw numbers indicating that alcohol use in the Lodi Middle School is on the rise after many years of decline. Again, we encourage you to have conversations with your middle schoolers about alcohol use. A great resource for this is Small Talks from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Human Services.
Especially during this time with Covid-19, there is a lot of stress and anxiety. Even the youngest among us can suffer just as much as adults. It’s easy to look for an escape. We highly recommend choosing healthy options that involve play, the outdoors, and exercise versus using modifiers like alcohol and other drugs.
