How easy is it for your child to drink alcohol?
Last updated 14:57, Thursday, 16 October 2008
The Mediterranean approach to alcohol, with children drinking wine with meals, has long been held as the ideal way to promote responsible drinking in young people.
However, a new US study suggests that youngsters who have their first taste of alcohol before the age of 15 are at much more risk of becoming alcohol-dependent in later life than those who start drinking at 18 or older.
Certainly, figures show that even European youngsters are no longer immune to binge-drinking – the percentage of French under-18s saying they got drunk regularly, for example, rose from 19 per cent to 26 per cent between 2003 and 2006.
The numbers in Britain, however, are even higher – with up to 40 per cent of teenagers admitting to binge-drinking.
Now researchers from America’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) have recommended delaying drinking alcohol until at least the age of 18.
Their recommendation comes after a study of data gathered over three years revealed that the likelihood of developing alcohol problems in adulthood is about 50 per cent higher for people who start drinking before the age of 15, compared to those who don’t drink until 18 or older.
Deborah Dawson, an NIAAA staff scientist and author of the study, says: “Some early drinkers become alcohol-dependent while still in their teens, a time when those who haven’t yet started drinking aren’t even at risk of becoming dependent.
“The key finding of this study was that people who started drinking before age 15, and to a lesser extent those who started drinking at ages 15 to 17, were more likely to become alcohol-dependent as adults than people who waited until 18 or older to start drinking.”
The average age for British children to try their first alcoholic drink is 12.4 years, and an NHS study this year found that more than one in five 11 to 15-year-olds had alcohol in the week before.
In addition, the number of British under-18s being treated for alcohol abuse has soared in recent years.
A study led by Liverpool John Moores University last year found that nearly 90 per cent of the 10,000 15 and 16-year-olds questioned admitted to drinking alcohol. Of these, 38 per cent binged and 24 per cent drank frequently.
The study also found a third of respondents bought their own alcohol, and those that did were twice as likely to binge as those who had alcohol bought for them.
Mark Bellis, the professor of Public Health who led the research, says that while children having no alcohol at all is a healthy choice, parents need to be realistic.
“There’s no doubt that an alcohol-free childhood is a healthy option, and certainly that’s going to be the case for children up to the age of 14,” he says.
“At the ages of 15 and 16, not drinking alcohol is still, of course, a healthy option, but unfortunately there’s also a responsibility to prepare children for an environment where drinking is not only encouraged, but also expected as an adult.”
And he points out that if a parent doesn’t give a child alcohol, there’s no guarantee that the child isn’t getting it elsewhere.
“The question is, if a child is prevented from getting alcohol by a parent, are they then going to try and access alcohol outside the parental environment?
“That’s associated with much greater dangers, certainly to their immediate health and involvement in anti-social behaviour, than accessing alcohol within a controlled parental environment.”
He says that around the ages of 15 and 16, the reality is that so many children drink that it’s important parents talk to them about their alcohol consumption.
“In some circumstances, providing alcohol may be part of the discussion about how to consume alcohol in moderation with food, to learn about consuming alcohol properly so they don’t grow up to be people who’ve learned to drink in a park with their peers.”
Bellis says there’s a body of evidence which suggests a relationship between early childhood access to alcohol and increased risks of alcohol-related problems later in life, as well as short-term problems associated with alcohol consumption.
“The arguments as you approach 18 for children drinking as part of developing and understanding how to consume alcohol in moderation become much stronger,” he says.
“But quite clearly, from the latest US study and others, in the younger age groups there’s far less of an argument for introducing children to alcohol.
“The middle point, around 15 and 16, is where people have to recognise that on an individual basis there may be an opportunity which requires the provision of some alcohol in small amounts as part of the education children get on moderate consumption.
“Parents need to understand that if they’re not providing some alcohol, they certainly should be providing some education about it, and they need to ensure that children aren’t accessing alcohol outside the parental environment, which can be more dangerous.”
Last year, the charity Alcohol Concern called for parents who gave alcohol to children aged under 15 to be prosecuted following the release of figures suggesting a large increase in alcohol consumption by 11 to 13-year-olds.
Frank Soodeen, a spokesman for Alcohol Concern, warns that the idea of parents being well-placed to introduce alcohol to children in the home relies on the hope that they are setting a good example.
“The risk is that it normalises drinking for their kids from a very young age, and it’s not followed up with information about the risks when the parents don’t have a healthy attitude to alcohol themselves.
“These children, when they drink outside the home, will be more likely to have alcohol problems in adulthood.”
And he warns that such alcohol problems are shared by Europeans, who are often far from responsible drinkers.
“The Mediterranean model is held up because historically these countries have had less alcoholic-related violence and disorder than Britain, but that’s not to say that their alcohol-related harm is any less – France has an astronomically high rate of cirrhosis of the liver, for example.”
He says that rather than trying to emulate the Mediterranean way, parents should instead try to be good role models.
In addition, he says they should discuss alcohol with their children from the age of around 11 years, although the crucial age for talking to them is around 14, when the average child has their first “non-parent” drink.
“The key is to get kids to critically understand the influences around them, and to not just accept the forced truth that ‘everybody drinks’.
“It’s about helping your child understand why it is that a lot of people might drink, what the messages are out there in terms of advertising and so on, and what the advertisers are trying to get the kids to do.
“In a sense you’re building up their resilience, so they can make their own choices.”
He adds: “It’s not just about introducing your children to alcohol, it’s about remembering at all times that they’re looking to you, so you need to think very carefully about your own behaviour in front of them.
