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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.
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