New Teen Drinking Craze Is Big Joke on Parents

on October 28, 2011 at 3:36 PM

The word on the street is that teenagers -- no longer content to eyeball their vodka and take jello shots -- have now taken to soaking gummi bears in vodka and eating them. It's unclear how this is any more dangerous than shotgunning beers or luging Malibu, but the media is up in arms.

A recent news story on the Boston Channel highlighted the "craze," but the joke was on them when none of the teens interviewed had ever even heard of it. "It sounds really weird," one teen replied, looking at the reporter like she was insane.

Parents are being told to be vigilant, but my guess is that the joke is on them. Besides, how drunk can a person really get from gummy bears. And even if they could get drunk from 500, how much alcohol can a gummy bear really hold?

It seems like every few months, there is some new craze parents need to fear whether it's colored bracelets denoting sex acts or kids pouring vodka into their eyeballs. Some of them might be real, but others seem just made up to scare parents.

Relax mom and dad! Yes, I'm not looking forward to having teenagers, but I also know that most teenagers don't have idiotic death wishes. As crazy as I was as a teen, I knew my limits. None of us would survive our childhood if we did all the things the media likes to pretend we did.

Teens survive and thrive. They even grow up and go to college and become us! I'm not saying teens should drink and mow vodka gummy bears like they are vitamins, but I'm pretty sure it will all be OK.

If you want to, confiscate all gummy paraphernalia -- worms, bears, spiders, and the like. Your kid will still drink if they want to. Or you can just chill out and drink some vodka yourself.

Do you think this is silly?

Image via DOH4/Flickr

About the author Sasha Brown-Worsham

can't decide whether she is a mother, writer, or runner, but is usually all three at some point each day. She has written for dozens of print magazines, newspapers, and websites. She rarely ever writes on bathroom walls.

Filed Under: drugs & alcohol

Comments (20)

SandMsMama

on Oct 28, 2011 at 3:43 PM

I don't have teens yet, but I'm betting it's not all that bad. I plan to be open and relaxed with mine, because my mom was the opposite and I felt I could never really talk to her. If they have someone else to consult other than their equally dumb (sorry, naive) friends, I'm betting things will go a lot smoother

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Facebook comment from Alicia Lili Mauer

on Oct 28, 2011 at 3:51 PM

Not only is this not new and not the way teens get drunk, but it's more of a trend with single 20-somethings and older partiers. Most everyone I know who's too cheap to buy decent vodka (including my father, who wouldn't know good vodka if it introduced itself) or is bored with the flavors in stores drops jelly beans or jolly ranchers or gummy bears in and lets them dissolve. It's disgustingly sweet, but then I prefer whiskey and seven or Guinness so almost anything is. Trust me, though, unless your high schooler knows a dumbass 21 year old or you don't watch your liquor cabinet, they're downing 30-racks of PBR, Rolling Rock, Keystone, or Genny, not vodka. Gas stations aren't great for checking IDs, so beer is a lot more accessible than hard shit.

chigirl1228

on Oct 28, 2011 at 4:01 PM

LOL! I think they might have gotten this backwards. When I was in high school/college/now even if I can be completely honest you put the gummi bears in vodka to mix the flavor of the bear with the vodka. You can do the same with skittles. I am contemplating trying starburst next. Plus this takes like a week. But teenagers are smart. Alot smarter than we give them credit for. But I highly doubt that a gummi bear can soak that much alcohol. They aren't very absorbant like fruit.

clg1213

on Oct 28, 2011 at 4:12 PM

they actually make a "gummi" flavor vodka (more swedish fish taste, IMO)! def reminded me of vodka bears which were well-known many moons ago when i was in college (99 grad)

Nonmember comment from sharron

on Oct 28, 2011 at 4:24 PM

I think it's silly to worry about it - teens will experiment no matter what you do

ms_morgan

on Oct 28, 2011 at 5:14 PM

My mom was a teacher, and she had told me one year the supposed craze was soaking sunflower seeds in alcohol and eating them in class. Kids will think of dumb (and usually ineffective) ways of getting drunk, high, etc. But it's usually just the not-so-smart ones that do it....hopefully most of them realize how idiotic it is!

Facebook comment from Craig Knox

on Oct 28, 2011 at 5:35 PM

This has been around for ages, and it's not silly. If you buy quality gummi candy (not the cheap 99 cent bags, those melt in the vodka) they get really big. About 3-6 times their size.

Though, pouring vodka into a watermelon would be far worse, or Jello shots. For adults, if you are throwing a fun party, it does give a new twist. Especially with it being halloween.

The method teens consume alcohol isn't really the issue, it's the consumption. Teens are and have for ever drank and experiemnted. It's more important that your kids trust you to be able to call you for a ride if they do something stupid, than feel they need to lie to you to risk being killed when they get home.

jlynx0

on Oct 28, 2011 at 5:46 PM

Not new, I haven't tried it but I heard of it though. Sounds delicious. Especially an above posters idea of skittles.

Nonmember comment from Carolyn

on Oct 28, 2011 at 7:52 PM

This isn't new. And I don't know that it's a craze, either. About 5 years back when I was still bound and determined to destroy my liver (and young and stupid), we used to soak just about anything bite sized in vodka or grain alcohol. Gummy anything, dried fruit and cherries were particular favorites. It isn't so much about dissolving the item as it is about having the item absorb the alcohol. Like I said, I was young and stupid at the time.