PDFMy Child’s Flunking Out of College Because He’s Drinking Too Much
Binge Drinking – It’s only on the weekends, but it’s ruining my child’s chances of completing college
Parents of college students who are heavy binge drinkers often don’t realize their son or daughter is in trouble until their child flunks out of school.
Binge drinking is defined as having five drinks in a row for males and four for women.
The Harvard School of Public Health’s on-going study of over 14,000 students indicates that about half of all college students binge drink. About half of that group does so more than once a week, usually binging six or more times a month. This is the group that gets in academic trouble.The factor associated with academic failure is the frequency of binge drinking and not the amounts consumed.
This means about one in four students tell researchers that their drinking causes them to miss classes, fail exams, fall behind, turn out mediocre work, and earn failing grades. They are also 21 times more likely to damage property, get injured or hurt, engage in unplanned sex or have unprotected sex, get in trouble with campus police, and drive drunk.
The reason that frequent drinkers get in academic trouble is partly due to alcohol’s physical effects on their bodies. Alcohol impairs memory, alters perception of spatial relationships, and produces verbal skill deficiencies. It takes much less alcohol to damage a young brain than a mature one, and such damage occurs more quickly in young adults. Heavy drinking kills brain cells and, over time, changes the size and structure of the brain. The adolescent hippocampus, the part of the brain that forms memories, does not fully form until age twenty. Heavy drinking before that age causes permanent memory impairment.
Many college students operate under the slogan: “Work hard, party hard.” But the myth that you can perform well academically and binge drink frequently is untrue. Professors like Dr. Peter Lake at Stetson University are very much aware of students who come to class with hangovers. Dr. Lake says, “The next day in class they are less able to recall cases, think analytically or pay attention. ... When a large number parties too much the night before, the class begins to break down and the entire group suffers.”
Why are parents often last to know that their child is drinking and flunking out?
Consider this:
- Colleges send grade reports to the students, not parents. Since students are over age 18, colleges are under no legal obligation to report grades to parents.
- Similarly, colleges often do not tell parents when a child is arrested for underage drinking, vandalism, assault, drunk driving, etc. State laws that limit drinking to people over 21 years are overwhelmingly ignored near college campuses. Campus police often handle these infractions, and the student is often just put on probation without notifying parents.
How can parents help their children? First, you must recognize the problem. Get copies of your child’s grade reports. Make a surprise weekend night visit to your child’s campus. Does your child’s college have a reputation as a “party school”? Is your child in a fraternity or sorority? Most heavy drinking takes place among Greeks. Did your child start drinking in high school? College alcoholism is almost always a carry-over from something that began as a coping mechanism in earlier adolescence. You may be among that half of parents of high school alcoholics who are unaware of their child’s addiction.
Consider the fact that frequent binge drinking is a form of alcoholism. Your child may need help in a professional treatment plan. Don’t despair but count your blessings that you intervened before your child became a chronic lifelong alcoholic. If you get your son or daughter into treatment before age twenty-five, the chances of a complete recovery are excellent.
