Ask Listen Learn - www.CenturyCouncil.org

Ask, Listen, Learn

Kids and Alcohol Don't Mix

Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don't Mix, is a highly creative multimedia program, developed by The Century Council and Nickelodeon — the industry expert on kids — that tackles, head on, the difficulties of convincing tweens not to try alcohol during their middle school years.

Tween Drinking

41% percent of 8th
graders say they have
consumed alcohol at least
once in their lifetime.
Nearly 38% of 13-15
year olds drank
alcohol on an
average of nearly
five occasions in
the past year.
First use of alcohol
typically begins
around age 12

More facts

Designed by a team of educators and psychologists specializing in middle school-aged students, the interactive program helps parents have effective conversations about alcohol with their kids, using a number of accessible resources including discussion booklets, Public Service Announcements (PSAs), and an interactive website.

The conversations are needed. 65% of adolescents say parents are the leading influence not to drink, but 36% say that they had not spoken to either parent about underage drinking.

The Ask, Listen, Learn parent's booklet describes in detail how to begin the conversation, sustain the conversation and make an impact on kids. It presents effective questions, data, conversation starters and answers to typical objections kids raise. It also includes a kid's booklet, with interactive tests about alcohol's impact on the body, trading cards (over 7 million trading cards are expected to circulate), how to avoid peer pressure, creative ways to say no, and interactive games with parents.

PSAs, produced to raise awareness both with parents and kids, are being developed as part of the Ask, Listen, Learn campaign. A website, produced by Nickelodeon, is being launched as a resource where kids can go to get more information on avoiding peer pressure.

Tween drinking is a much overlooked, but growing problem, and it is clear that early parental intervention can have a significant impact. Parents sometimes do not know how to initiate conversations or what to say to get through to their kids, and kids sometimes need help in avoiding peer pressure to drink. Using the materials available from Ask, Listen, Learn as a starting place, this important conversation can begin.