13 year and alcohol.

I really feel drinking at age 13 is not old enough to start drinking..I come from a family of alcoholics..and my siblings and father and mother drank. I was really young when I knew my parents drinking was a problem..the arguing and the abuse I witnessed because of alcoholic parents was horrible. My 2 brothers and a sister became alcoholics at a very young age..and they too drank to socialize and let loose from the abuse. They passed away from cirrhosis of the liver which is caused from too much drinking..my parents past away as well after my siblings! I wish my life would have been differently but because of alcohol caused so much pain..so u see there's nothing to look forward to..Alcohol robs everything until there's nothing left!

signed, Gina

Hello John,

At 13, your brain has not fully matured, most especially the pre-frontal part of the brain which is the decision making process and the last part of the brain to mature.

It would be worth you doing some reading up on the brain and alcohol because not only does alcohol affect every single part of your body in some way, it influences the brain's neural pathways and how your brain forms. In a brain with it's neural pathways not completely matured, it will have a lot of influence and can affect how your brain works for the rest of your life. Science is now showing that people who use substances earlier in life and more likely to develop substance abuse issues later in life. (I was about your age when I started drinking and it took me until I was in my mid 40's to finally sort out my abuse problems.)

Consider the pathways in your brain like building a motorway/freeway. You want the concrete to be set solid and good before allowing cars and trucks and hummers run up and down it all day long. If that concrete is weakened by adding another substance that shouldn't be there, then that wouldn't be good.

alcohol is a drug. it is addicting and can cause many health problems. with the statement i read of all the alcohol you drank at the last party you are very, very lucky that you did not die from alcohol poisoning.

my son started drinking at parties like you in his early teens and your friends. you all are abusing alcohol and can cause your brain to become undeveloped. alcohol shuts down many areas of the brain can soon create a need to drink ...it called ...addiction .. when your body cannot function without a drink. this is not the way to treat your young healthy body and brain. your brain is still growing alcohol can permanently damage the brain.

my son lost the option to choose not to drink he became addicted as a teen. last week was the worst day of my life when i received a phone call from the county morgue that my son died from long term alcohol disease and other complication due to alcohol. binge drinking at parties is the worst way to set yourself up for ending up in the hospital or worse. introducing alcohol to fast to soon to your system in a short amount of time is a formula for disaster.

i pray to god that you stop this destructive behavior and be happy with your choice and your decision to be proud to remain sober without using alcohol to remove your ability to make good decisions . if not remembering how much you drank isn't a clue that you were really in a black out drunk condition is a danger to you and all your friends . no parent ever want to hear that their child is drinking alcohol. give your parents a gift pledge to remain sober and make the choice to save a life if not your own then others in your group.

how important is it for you to drink? im not trying to convince you of not drinking ,i am a living testament of what alcohol will do to you i lost my only son to AUD. Eventually you will loose everything . is this the road you want to travel?