Dangers of booze 'hard to ignore'

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Maria (not her real name) is a 40-something Christchurch mother with a 17-year-old daughter, Lizzy.

Like many parents, Maria struggles with how to keep her daughter safe, and away from alcohol, in a world where teen drinking seems to be the norm.

"I worry about her walking the streets drinking alcohol or having stuff that older guys have given her," Maria says. "She possibly does that a bit, but I prefer to think that if I give her the odd bottle she will drink that and not have to get into dodgy situations."

Lizzy started drinking at parties when she was about 15. At 16, she started asking her mother to buy her alcohol to take to parties.

"I have bought her alcohol and it makes me sick to the stomach, but I'd rather that than her drinking whatever she can get her hands on otherwise."

They have a system where Maria texts Lizzy during a party to see if she is OK.

"I ask if she is safe and if she says 'yes', I don't worry so much. We have a pretty open relationship."

Lizzy has called on her mother's help a few times when parties got out of control.

"She was at a party which got completely out of hand, with about 500 people and fights breaking out everywhere. She has been in a few bad situations."

The Edgeware Rd tragedy was an eye-opener for many parents. "After that happened it was hard to ignore the types of situations that kids can end up in. You never think something like that will happen to you, but it happened to ordinary people like us."

Maria says it is difficult not to be hypocritical when talking about alcohol and teenagers. "I look back and at 18 I was drinking in the pubs when the legal age was 21."

She believes the alcohol purchase age should be raised and alcohol made more difficult to buy from dairies and supermarkets. "I can't forgive the Government for lowering the purchase age. They should be protecting the young people, not helping them get really drunk."

- © Fairfax NZ News