A recent survey by the State of Nebraska revealed that one out of every four kids in Nebraska had their first taste of alcohol before they reached age 13. By their senior year in high school, about half the students in the state are drinking at least once a month.

According to experts in the fields of alcohol abuse, traffic safety, law enforcement and youth corrections, a substantial amount of the blame for the amount of alcohol consumed and the relaxed attitude towards its consumption comes directly from parents and other adults.

Your Kids are Drinking is a new NET Television/NET Radio project exploring how lax attitudes among adults aggravate the youth drinking problem and corresponding ways that adults can provide realistic solutions.

NET Radio broadcast a three-part series on the problem of underage drinking.

The first segment explores why it is so easy for minors to obtain alcohol and what can be done about it, while the second looks at the town of Shelton, NE, where young people are taking the initiative to find a safe alternative to getting drunk. Whether it's a beer garden at a county fair, or canned beer in the stands during softball games, the third segment focuses on how the behaviors of adults influence kids' choices.

Each of the NET Radio stories in this series are also posted on the NET Radio Web site at netNebraska.org/radio, with links for additional information on these topics.

Your Kids are Drinking opens with several documentary segments, including a visit to small town street dances where heavy drinking is a tradition and families protect their teenage drinkers. Then, in Omaha, cameras follow under-aged decoys as they purchase liquor from stores and restaurants. The segments also look at how law enforcement officials are not only ticketing the under-age offender, but also trying to identify the individual who purchased the liquor for the youth.

The program includes a panel discussion with experts in the area of adolescent behavior and alcohol abuse to provide insights into how adults can better work with teenagers to shape responsible use of alcohol.

Panel members include: Sara Doghman, Project Extra Mile/Omaha Central High School student; Jackie Miller, chief administrator for Community Health, Division of Public Health, State of Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services; and Prof. Ian Newman, director of the Nebraska Prevention Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

Your Kids are Drinking was underwritten in part by the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Additional funding was provided by Mutual of Omaha, Methodist Health System and State Farm Insurance.

This program is a project of NET Television and NET Radio. NET1 and NET2 are part of NET Television. NET Television and NET Radio are services of NET. Complete program schedules are available online at netNebraska.org.