In honor of April’s designation as Alcohol Awareness Month Attorney General Peter Nickles, Beach Volleyball sensation Misty May-Treanor, and the Century Council, a not-for-profit dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking, have joined together to fight underage drinking. An Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix Public Service Announcement (PSA), featuring Attorney General Nickles and Misty May-Treanor that encourages kids to live a healthy and active lifestyle and to say "no" to underage drinking, will air on radio and television stations across Nickels throughout the month. 

Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix recognizes that the key to stopping underage drinking is communication early and often between parents and children, and provides both kids and parents with information and strategies to help jumpstart the conversation about the dangers of underage drinking, in a format and language designed specifically for them.

“According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, most kids try alcohol for their first time at the age of 12. The conversation needs to begin earlier than most parents think–as early as nine years of age. I believe that Ask, Listen, Learn is an effective tool to reduce underage drinking and facilitate effective conversations between parents and their children,” said Attorney General Nickles.

“Living a healthy lifestyle includes being active and eating right, and definitely includes saying ‘no’ to underage drinking,” said Misty May-Treanor. “As a kid I was lucky to have parents who talked to me about underage drinking, so I knew it was something I should not consider.”

Whether or not they realize it, parents are the leading influence on kids’ decision not to drink alcohol. According to the 2008 Roper Youth Report, 79 percent of American youth (ages 8-12) identified their parents as the leading influence.

Susan Molinari, chairman of the Century Council added, “Parental involvement in their children’s lives, especially during the middle school years, can make a difference in preventing their children from consuming alcohol. We are honored to work with Attorney General Nickles to help get this important message out about keeping our young people alcohol-free.”