Do you allow children a glass of bubbly on special occasions? Rethink that strategy. Research shows it does more harm than good...
Parents are being urged by experts in alcohol research not to allow their under-age kids to drink - and to model responsible drinking habits themselves.
"The evidence currently available both here and internationally clearly shows that early initiation and introduction to drinking alcohol is strongly associated with more harm than good for kids," says Professor Richard Mattick, a past director and current researcher at the National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre.
He and a team of researchers are following more than 2000 families over the next few years to see what role parents play in their kids' drinking habits. With the information he has available at this early stage, he would like to see parents having a zero-tolerance attitude towards under-age drinking.
"Parents are by far the biggest suppliers of alcohol to kids," Professor Mattick says. "Many parents think if they give their kids alcohol, they can control what they drink, but that's often not the case.
"It's okay for parents to tell their kids they are not allowed to drink until they are old enough and to outline all the reasons for this decision. The kids may get alcohol somewhere else, but they will know their parents have not allowed it."
A booze culture
Professor Sandra Jones, director of the Centre for Health Initiatives at the University of Wollongong, says most of society wouldn't allow kids to drive before the legal age, but it's less frowned on if they drink when they are under-age.
She doesn't blame parents for this trend. Her research has suggested alcohol advertising is helping generate a booze culture. "Children as young as 11 and 12 associate alcohol with having fun because of the ads they watch on TV," Professor Jones says. She says the "Bundy Bear", for example, is not only an extremely recognisable character but also an adored one. But there is no suggestion it intentionally targets under-age drinkers.
"Advertising sends a powerful message to kids that drinking is something everyone needs to do to have fun and have lots of friends," Professor Jones says. "It can be difficult for parents to be heard over that message."
She would like to see parental efforts to keep a lid on under-age drinking backed up by an increase in the price of alcohol.
"Putting up the price of alcohol will have a dramatic effect on how much kids drink," she says. "Kids aren't interested in the health message, but if they can't afford to buy as much, they can't drink as much."
The power of parents
New research has found parenting style can directly affect teens when it comes to heavy drinking (that is consuming five or more consecutive drinks). A US study of 5000 adolescents found the following:
- The teens least prone to heavy drinking had parents who scored high on both accountability and warmth.
- "Indulgent" parents, that is those low on accountability and high on warmth, nearly tripled the risk of their teen taking part in heavy drinking.
- "Strict" parents, high on accountability but low on warmth, more than doubled a teen's risk of heavy drinking.
The bottom line, says Melbourne's Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, is there is no such thing as a safe amount of alcohol for children. In fact, 2009 research by the institute found even moderate teen drinkers were more likely to develop alcohol-use disorders and participate in high-risk, alcohol-related sexual behaviour throughout young adulthood.
Kid booze myths
- Most teens are drinking. Almost 60 per cent of 12- to 17-year-olds have never consumed alcohol, according to the 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey.
- The early-initiation method works. Most research points to the importance of delaying introducing alcohol to kids for as long as possible.
- It's illegal to drink if you're under 18. This differs between states in relation to who buys the alcohol and where it is consumed. Visit www.lawstuff.org.au for more information.
Parents are being urged by experts in alcohol research not to allow their under-age kids to drink - and to model responsible drinking habits themselves. "The evidence
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