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Kids and alcohol: 17% try it by sixth grade
Filed under: Tweens, Teens, Health & Safety: Babies, In The News, Alcohol & Drugs, Day Care & Education
Underage drinking is every parent's concern, especially at the high school level. But a recent survey of 4,000 sixth grade students in Chicago found that 17% of sixth graders had already tried alcohol. Obviously, kids who start drinking this early are at risk for a whole mess of problems, including trouble at school and with the law. Prevention experts think this finding means that alcohol awareness classes should begin earlier, in grade school.
At home, parents can start the discussion on their own, broaching the topic sooner than later. Experts suggest not only teaching kids about the dangers of alcohol, but also how to turn it down when it is offered to them. For age appropriate ways to talk to your kids about alcohol, visit Kids Health.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
3-15-2008 @ 12:18PM
ame s said...I don't find that surprising. By the time I graduated high school, I would guess that fewer than 30% of the entire student body (about 700 students) didn't drink or smoke pot. I'm not sure if it was because we were in a small town where there was nothing for kids to do besides go to the movies, bowling, skating, or riding the backroads.
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3-15-2008 @ 3:40PM
Jen Henry said...I find this study REALLY misleading. It just says that the percentage has TRIED alcohol. It doesn't say that they drink regularly, or with peers. TRYING alcohol can be as simple as the little sip of God-awful wine my parents would choose for a holiday meal. If a survey had asked me if I had tried alcohol I would have said yes. I also would have said that my parents let me drink.
It would have ended up sounding MUCH worse than it really was.
I'm just wondering how truly accurate these results are?
Jen
http://furoreandfrenzy.com
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3-15-2008 @ 8:10PM
eugene said...I wonder if this survey took into account different cultural views on the consumption of alcohol? I had several friends who came from asian or european immigrant homes. Their parents introduced alcohol to them at younger ages and treated it as a normal part of dining, they consequently had much healthier views on drinking and didn't partake in the binge drinking that so many other kids engaged in... because it wasn't anything special, there wasn't anything naughty or illicit about it.
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3-15-2008 @ 10:45PM
SKL said...I agree, the linked article offers no meaningful information, because it doesn't specify how many of those kids were reporting drinking under their parents' supervision in a healthy manner.
There is no need to tell kids "not" to drink, only under what circumstances they may drink, and how to behave under those circumstances, both while they are minors and after they are "of age."
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