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Drug Information

Generational Differences

Parenting Column

By Alison Birnbaum

We are a generation of parents who pride ourselves on being tuned in to our children’s needs. However, when it comes to drug and alcohol use, our actual knowledge about the pressures and influences facing our kids is sometimes lacking.

There is no way that our kids could effectively introduce us to their generation; to them it is a given -- it would be like describing the air they breathe. Also, there is no way that we could stand in our kids’ shoes by just being good friends with them. No matter how close our relationship we were raised in a different time.

For example, our generation never had the experience of growing up online. When we tune into “The Real World,” we realize that what was considered “appropriate behavior” in our youth has totally changed.

The Generation Gap project has been developed to help parents bridge the gap between us and our teens so that we can communicate more effectively and be a better parent. To start, test your teen knowledge with our fun Pop Culture Quiz. Then, delve deep into teen world with our easy-to-follow Action Items. We encourage you to share your thoughts and findings with other parents in our Parent-to-Parent Forum and to learn more about how other parents are connecting with their teens. Our hope is that parents will explore and gain a better understanding of their kids’ lives. Understanding these challenges can lead to enhanced communication and to more effective parenting.

We invite you to enter into the Chronicles with the right frame of mind. Snooping and hovering over our children is not the goal. The goal is to encourage better communication, responsible parenting and to protect our children from drug and alcohol use. Most of us have at least one friend whose child has gotten lost in substance abuse, and we have seen the devastating and heartbreaking effects that addiction has on a family.

We want to bridge the generation gap, but we also want to honor it. It is our generational differences, and our perspective about life, that make us capable of being good parents. Our kids need us to be wise parents more than they need us to be good friends, especially in the area of drugs and alcohol, which carry potentially severe consequences. In the spirit of stepping up to the plate and being a fine, loving parent, read on!

Alison Birnbaum, LCSW, has practiced psychotherapy in New York City and Connecticut for 25 years. In her clinical work, she helps adults, adolescents, children, and their families with issues ranging from mental illness and substance abuse to divorce and emotional intelligence. Alison also works as a consultant to the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, offering expert advice on various media initiatives and contributing guest columns to TheAntiDrug.com. She was previously a member of the Media Campaign's Behavior Change Expert Panel (BCEP).