If you have been ordered to take alcohol awareness classes, so are probably dreading the drive to the classroom to sit in a stuffy room with a bunch of other people. These lectures tend to be long and boring, and you don't really come away learning much. While many people see the attendance of these classes as punishment, they really should be seen as a way to educate oneself. If you would rather save time and money, and at least be in an environment where you will pay attention to the materials presented to you, you should consider online alcohol and drug awareness classes.  These classes can be taken from the comfort of your own home, so you do not have to deal with the embarrassment or awkwardness of going or being seen at a class with other people. These classes award you a certificate of completion, which can then be presented to the courts.

I am in so much trouble.  I have to take Minor-In-Possession classes per a court ruling after I was caught a few weeks ago with a couple boxes of beer in my car.  I was unlucky enough to run into a traffic stop on my way home from work and am not quite 21 yet.   I had the beer in my car because I was planning on taking it to a party that one of my friends was holding. I guess it might be for the best, because now that I have gotten in trouble for having possession of the alcohol illegally, no one else will be able to get in trouble with that beer. I guess that is one way of looking at it, but I am really just hoping that I will be ale to complete these classes without too much of a hassle, and then that I will be able to just move on with my life. I don't think I will have anything to do with alcohol again until I am actually old enough to drink.

Most parents might think I'm a bit strange, but for each time I celebrated the 15th birthday of one of my children, I gave them two gifts: the first was their regular birthday gift, a game console or music player or whatever it was they were dying to have at the time; the second gift was enrollment in alcohol education classes online. The fact of the matter is that kids are doing things that they shouldn't be doing, and it seems that with each year that passes, they start doing these things at younger and younger ages. I lost a sister when I was younger to drunk driving, and I did not want to go through anything like that with my own children. Since my kids never wanted to actually attend a class, I did these lessons online, and they really appreciated it. While they always moaned and whined when it came time, I was proud to see that they really paid attention to what they were being taught.

When my son was charged with underage drinking, I was very grateful that the judge who was responsible for his sentencing, believed in rehabilitation over punishment. He was told that his record would be clear after he completed 100 hours of community service and a Level 1 Alcohol and Drug Awareness Class. I was very thankful for this, and I completely supported the judge's reasoning for it. I personally thanked him afterward because I was worried that my son would be punished more than this, but I also thought that a harder punishment would not have been as effective. As it was, my son completed both requirements and he gained such a respect for what alcohol can do to a person that he decided to become a counselor himself. I am so proud of him and I guess it is true. We have to go through bad things to get to the good ones.

When our teenage daughter got caught drinking by the parents of one of her friends, my husband and I decided that something needed to be done to make sure that it did not happen again. Before the incident we had no idea that she was drinking. We did however know that if she got caught once she could get caught again. Instead of letting the problem get worse we decided that she needed to take an online minor in possession course to  learn about the dangers of underage drinking. It was important to us that she see just how serious of a problem that it was. Since she was taking the class online she was able to schedule it around her school classes so that she would not fall behind. We never had another incident of her drinking after she completed her course, and we both believe that she learned her lesson.