How to Talk to Your Kids About Drinking with Jessica Lahey

Today’s episode is all about our kids and how to best talk to them about drinking and other substances. I’m honored to have Jessica Lahey on the show to guide the conversation.

Jessica Lahey is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed and The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence. Jess has taught every grade from sixth to twelfth in both public and private schools and spent five years teaching in a drug and alcohol rehab for adolescents in Vermont and serves as a prevention and recovery coach at Sana, a medical detox and recovery center in Stowe, Vermont. She has written about education, parenting, and child welfare for The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and the New York Times. She co-hosts the #AmWriting podcast from her empty nest in Vermont. She is also celebrating 10 years of sobriety.

We cover:

• How Jessica became interested in this topic
• Common mistakes parents make when talking to their kids about drinking and how to avoid them
• How substance prevention school programs have changed (for the better)
• How to have a clear message around drinking
• How alcohol affects the developing brain of adolescents differently than adults and why this matters
• Tangible tools for conversations at different ages and stages
• The toxicity of mommy wine culture
• How to be honest and compassionate with your kids if you have a history of drinking problems or are struggling yourself
• And more!

Find Jessica:

• The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence: By Jessica Lahey
• The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica Lahey
• www.jessicalahey.com/

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Free resources from Alcohol Tipping Point:

• 100 Questions to Change Your Drinking: