The younger your kids drink the more likely they are to suffer alcohol-related problems later in their lives, a new study reveals. Arlene Harris reports.
Most parents disapprove of underage drinking, but many believe that allowing their child a watered-down glass of wine with dinner or a sip of beer whileon holiday is the responsible way to introduce them to alcohol in a secure environment.
But American researchers at Yale University School of Medicine have revealed that the younger people have their first drink, the more likely they are to suffer alcohol-related problems in later life and be more prone to drug abuse, liver damage and problematic brain development.
Meghan Morean, one of the authors of the study, said in a statement: "Many studies have found relationships between an early AFD (age of first drink) and a range of negative alcohol-related outcomes later in life, including the development of alcohol use disorders, legal problems like drink-driving and health problems like cirrhosis of the liver.
"There is also evidence that beginning to drink at an early age is associated with more immediate problems, such as compromised brain development and liver damage during adolescence, risky sexual behaviours, poor performance in school and use of other substances like marijuana and cocaine."
Fiona Ryan of Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) says although underage drinking is rife in Ireland, most parents seem to be heeding this latest research from the US as encouraging results from a national survey revealed the majority of Irish parents are not happy to allow their children to drink at home.
In a nationwide survey, the AAI found that 70% of people disagreed that it was okay to let their 15, 16 or 17-year-old drink at home, while 88% of people disagreed that it was okay for parents to buy alcohol for their 15, 16 and 17-year-olds.
"Being a teenager can be tough but so can being a parent; see-sawing between permission and sanction as you try and guide this young person towards adulthood," she says.
"Parents who buy their children alcohol and let them drink at home are not doing so because they don’t care about their child, but because they think that they are keeping them safe by allowing alcohol in a controlled environment.
"But, as we can see from the Yale report, the problem is that letting young people drink at home can have the opposite effect and they take it as having tacit permission to drink outside the home too.
"We know from numerous studies that young people need boundaries to feel safe — even when they cross those boundaries, they still know where the line is."
Fiona Ryan believes alcohol is too accessible to teenagers and this can lead to regular binge drinking.
"According to the most recent results of the European School Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (2007) Survey, almost half of Irish 15-16-year-olds have reported binge drinking in the past 12 months," she says.
Source: Arlene Harris, Irish Examiner, 02/09/2012
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