MARIETTA - Powder Springs resident Kecia Whitfield, 44, was recently convicted of furnishing alcohol to minors, one of whom died in a DUI accident. Whitfield defended her actions, saying she allows her stepson to drink because, "We would rather him drink at home. They (teenagers) are all drinking."

Whitfield's actions spurred outrage among some parents and brought up the morality of giving alcohol to minors. Further, it raised questions as to the extent of alcohol abuse by Cobb kids and how to get a handle on the situation.

Parents need to talk to their children early about alcohol and family expectations, said Jennifer Vann, a counselor who specializes in adolescents at Marietta Counseling for Children and Adults.

"In Cobb, students aren't really getting into drinking until high school. If the conversation doesn't happen in middle school, they won't have a plan for high school," she said. "Parents need to tell their children they will be faced with a choice and then make a game plan."

Cathy Fink, coordinator of the Cobb Alcohol Task Force, said parents should begin talking about alcohol when their children are 11 years old.

"According to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Association, the age of first use is 12 or 13," she said. "It is our belief that parents should talk about alcohol before children start using. The problem is that some parents wait until after the child is already using. No one should be excused from the discussion."

In the 2008 Cobb Student Health Survey conducted by the Georgia Department of Education, the average age that a child in Cobb County begins using alcohol is 13 years old, Fink said.

For parents to be able to discuss alcohol with their children appropriately, they must first educate themselves on the effects of alcohol consumption.

"Parents feel uneasy when they don't know enough about the subject matter. Parents need to start by educating themselves on how alcohol impacts the brain. Once they feel competent with that information, parents will figure out in their own way how to start that conversation," Fink said. "There's no one way to start the discussion just like there's no one type of kid. Our biggest message is start talking before they start drinking."

Discussing the family's outlook on alcohol consumption should be a key component to the conversation, Vann said.

"If children have a fear that getting caught drinking will destroy their relationship with their parents and there will be severe consequences, they will hide it. If they know they will still be loved anyway, they will be less likely to hide it," she said.

Vann won't say which side of the argument she's on, but said abstinence or ignoring the pink elephant in the room aren't wise choices for parents.

"How can you say one way is better than the other when everyone has different moral and religious values? Kids do need to be aware of legal consequences and a parent should never give another person's child alcohol. Parents are turning a blind eye to this. They know it exists, but they're in denial that their child may participate in alcohol, drugs or sex.

"A straight line, no wavering bar on abstinence isn't teaching them anything. It just says 'you can't have this.' The idea is to explain how it impacts their family, their brain and their social life," she said.

Providing teens and adults with information on how alcohol use affects the brain is a good way to get the conversation going, Fink said.

The brain is still developing in to the early 20s. Parts of the brain that deal with complex processing, decision making and emotion can be damaged by consuming alcohol, which is why the legal drinking age is set at 21 years old, Vann said.

Fink adds that drinking early can increase the probability a teenager will get in a car when drunk or become an alcoholic when they get older.

"Research shows kids who get these kinds of mixed messages (from parents) are five times more likely to ride with someone who has been drinking or drive themselves," she said. "If a young person starts drinking at 15, for example, and they have a predisposition to alcoholism because of genetic factors, that kid will get to the point of becoming an alcoholic six times faster than if their brain had been developed."

To add more fuel to the fire, drinking leads kids to practice unsafe sex, leaves girls vulnerable to being sexually assaulted and a host of other factors.

"One out of every two kids in this generation (11-16 year olds) in their lifetime will contract an STD. I don't think parents know that. We know from surveys that 50 percent of kids that are having sex said they wouldn't have done it if they hadn't been under the influence," Fink said. "I'm not saying alcohol causes it, but it is a contributing factor. Alcohol impairs an adult's brain where judgment takes place. What makes it different in an adolescent brain is the portion of the brain that takes care of not reacting to impulses is not there yet."

Both Vann and Fink acknowledge teenagers experimenting with alcohol is nothing new.

"Kids do what kids do. They like to experiment with all kinds of things. Parents need to put a line in the sand. Kids are going to cross it, but there needs to be some response. They're wimping out when they throw their hands in the air and say there's nothing they can do. Certainly they'll try to get alcohol, just don't help them get it," Fink said.

Don't avoid the subject either, said Vann.

"Taboo topics deserve more communication. Kids will go and explore things they don't understand, or they'll fear them. You don't want them living in a world of fear, so you inform them of the dangers to make them understand," she said. "It boils down to preparing kids and talking to them."

For more information, go to cobbat.org.