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Recent evidence shows binge-drinking problems start at home
It seems that parents who let their children experiment with alcohol at home may increase their children’s chance of having a future drinking problem. England’s chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, has accused parents who allow drinking at home of being “misguided”. New official guidance says under-15s should drink no alcohol, with under 17s only drinking under adult supervision. However, legally parents can give their children alcohol at home from the age of five upwards.
As Britain is currently struggling against its massive binge-drinking culture, this is yet more unwelcome news. However, Sir Liam Donaldson’s advice was welcomed by alcohol campaign groups. Alcohol Concern said that the availability of alcohol at “pocket money prices” was a key factor that should be addressed by ministers in protecting under-age children from binge drinking.
According to Sir Liam Donaldson: “The science is clear - drinking, particularly at a young age, a lack of parental supervision, exposing children to drink-fuelled events and failing to engage with them as they grow up are the root causes from which our country’s serious alcohol problem has developed.”
He also provided some frightening statistics, which showed “500,000 children between the ages of 11 to 15 years will have been drunk in the past four weeks”.
Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians and chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance says, ‘We know that adults who drink sensibly tend to pass these habits on and that some families choose to introduce alcohol to their children younger than 15 in a supportive environment’. However he stressed that not drinking alcohol at all is the ‘healthiest option’ for children.
COMMENTS
some good advice here. i would never let my kids (16 and 14) drink unsupervised. there’s just no need for kids to drink.
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Donald Urquhart
2010 01 29
Good article, and one that addresses a common problem in more than just England. In the United states the figures would probably come out the same. The drinking age in the US is mandated and enforced at 21 years of age. Plus each State and County has mandates for a wide range of public drunkenness situations. I liked Professor Ian Gilmore statement concerning parental education and involvement concerning kids and alcohol. I have known many People that grew up in a household where alcohol was a part of a divine ritual, Jewish and Roman Catholic. A reoccurring theme with them was a view that alcohol was not fivoloity or social marker. A part of their education beginning at a young age taught a responsible attitude when concerned with drinking. Some research articles have even shown a reduced number of alcoholics in both of these religious groups.
One point I would have to contend with from the article is the drive for increased mandates and governmental actions. It is usually hard for a political body to legislate moral choices at the individual level. The college scene in many American universities can demonstrate this with relation to alcohol consumption. Underage drinking is rampant on college campuses because most college age drinkers feel they are getting away with something. Combined with the idea of “being out on one’s own” for the first time. Legal adulthood has been reached, but not the legal drinking age. It is very common for alcohol to be drank in mass quantities leading to a social atmosphere similar to habitual binge drinking. Most of the people I mentioned earlier said they often found the social ritual of college drinking to be odd, and they failed to really see the point.
Again I agree with Professor Ian Gilmore when he says the ‘healthiest option’ is to not drink alcohol. Yet if parents give or withhold alcohol from their children there is still a need for a rounded education on how to handle alcohol responsibly.
Sincerely, Donald at Hemroid Treatment
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