Use of words such as craic and “prinks” (pre-drinks) shows a level of denial and dysfunctionality around our approach to alcohol, a conference in Galway has heard.
And Irish parents who believe they can inculcate a sensible Mediterranean approach to alcohol in teenagers by introducing them to wine at home are only “hurtling them faster” into the heavy-drinking culture, the Western Region Drugs Task Force conference was told yesterday.
‘Hold the line’
Child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Bobby Smyth said parents should “hold the line” with their teenagers on not drinking alcohol for as long as possible, as long-term epidemiological studies in North America, Australia and New Zealand had found that young people’s drinking habits only “escalated” when the brake was removed.
Dr Smyth was one of several speakers addressing the theme of “the culture of alcohol in homes” as part of the task force’s drug and alcohol awareness week, which was opened by Minister of State for Health Alex White. Dr Smyth also advised parents not to verbalise their “need” for a glass of wine at home, as this was giving children the message that this is how adults deal with stress.
“Parents may feel they have little influence any more, due to the multitude of influences on teenagers from social networks, but the biggest single influence is still parental,” he said, even if teenagers did not care to admit same.
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) sociologist Dr Mark Garavan said there was an “enormous denial” about how we mediated our experiences through alcohol, and one example of this was the use of the word craic.
Source: Lorna Siggins, Irish Times, 12/11/13
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