Don't Be a Party to Teenage Drinking

Apparently, 28-year-old Scarlett Barber of North Augusta hasn't heard the new campaign against teenage drinking.

She was charged last week with transferring alcohol to a minor and driving with an open container of beer. And that wasn't the first time Ms. Barber was arrested in Aiken County for providing alcohol to minors. In July 2006, she was also busted for transferring beer to a minor. Authorities say she hasn't learned her lesson.

She may be the kind of person targeted by a national campaign called "We Don't Serve Teens," which has a goal to prevent underage drinking.

Teens report that alcohol is easy to get. Social sources, like family and friends, are the primary sources of alcohol for kids who drink. The national campaign urges parents and adults to:

• Keep track of the alcohol in your home. Make sure teens can't access it without your knowledge.
• Let your teen know that the minimum legal drinking age is 21, and that drinking can cause serious health and safety consequences to teens and legal consequences for a person who provides the alcohol.
• Talk to your kids about how to say no to a drink.