10/28/08 Bend
 
By Doug Johnson
 
It's a problem facing many parents, underage drinking happening in their own homes, or the homes of their children's friends. A recent Oregon Healthy Teens Survey shows that about a third of 8th graders in the state have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days and about half of 11th graders. Now the Oregon Liquor Control Commission is teaming up with Oregon partnership to discourage parents giving alcohol to kids in their homes.
 
"And it's really meant to educate parents about the dangers of furnishing alcohol to minors, and in that respect help reduce underage drinking which is a big problem in Oregon," says Jason Evers, Regional Manager for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.
 
The campaign is titled "Face It Parents." It encourages parents to not only speak with their kids about the dangerous of underage drinking, but also to maintain control of alcohol in their home by locking liquor cabinets. Refrigerator magnets and posters will soon be distributed to liquor stores in Central Oregon to get that message out. Some liquor stores in Central Oregon say people over 21 buying for minors is a problem.
 
"I can't baby sit everybody, but if we see it we act on it, that comes with the job of selling liquor to the public," says Robert Wallace at the Wagner Mall Liquor Store.
 
So the Face It Parents campaign will be putting these posters up in liquor stores, reminding parents that hosting underage parties is illegal. These markers will also be available for parents to put on bottles. They read: "parental disapproval is the #1 reason kids don't drink." And a sticker which reads: "at your age drinking is dangerous, so are really angry parents," can be removed and placed on alcohol containers. The OLCC and Oregon Partnership hopes this will decrease underage drinking.
 
"The vast majority of illegal MIP parties occurring in private residences, end up getting the alcohol from the parents themselves," Evers says.