You can reduce alcohol-related harm to a young person by building strong family connections and improving parent-child communication.

Consider building your skills by doing some parenting courses or reading some books about parenting. You could even organise parenting courses in your community to support others to learn useful skills and strategies.

Parent/Whanau Packs can be a great way of getting accurate and useful information to parents. These can include information about alcohol and other drugs, helpful strategies and also links to local agencies and services who can offer help and support.

• Check with your local District Health Board and/or schools to see if one has already been developed. If there is one that is up-to-date and has been developed by a trusted source then you can utilise this.
• Or work with your local school/s and community to develop or adapt a Parent/Whanau Pack to suit your local needs. These can be distributed via schools or local groups.
• A number of groups have already developed Parent/Whanau Packs. You can use these as a starting point. Northland DHB has developed one.

When/if you judge it appropriate to introduce alcohol to your teen then ensure it is in small amounts and supervise its consumption. Click here to read about moderating and supervising alcohol consumption.