April marks Alcohol Awareness Month. It's a great opportunity to discuss the topic of alcohol abuse and its consequences with your children. Unfortunately, a child's first exposure to alcohol - and alcohol abuse - can be at home. As a parent, it's your responsibility to lead by example. In other words, getting drunk around your children isn't the best precedent to set when you're trying to dissuade impressionable youth from drinking. This shows that you not only condone alcohol abuse, but you also participate in it. And unfortunately, the old "do as I say, not as I do" probably won't serve as much of a deterrent for curious adolescents who are being pressured by peers to partake in underage drinking. If you are going to drink alcohol around your children, do so in moderation. Keep in mind that one drink consists of a 12-ounce bottle of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor. Be a role model.