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Teen Drinking at Home: Helpful or Harmful?
Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs, Research Reveals: Teens
Parents have mixed feelings about serving alcohol to teens at home. Credit: Getty
Some parents allow their teens to have an occasional glass of wine or a beer at home, believing kids who drink in moderation at home will be less likely to binge drink at a club or party, where they'll be much more at risk, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Other parents, however, believe underage drinking is dangerous and illegal no matter where or how it occurs, the newspaper adds, and say it sends an irresponsible message to teens that could pave the way for alcohol abuse later on.
But, in reality, many parents do supply their teens with alcohol -- at least some of the time.
According to a report released last month by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), nearly 6 percent of 12- to 14-year-olds (about 700,000 middle school kids) have had an alcoholic drink in the past month, the Journal reports. Nearly 45 percent of those obtained the alcohol free at home, including 16 percent who got it from a parent or guardian. However, the survey doesn't detail how much alcohol was involved or under what circumstances, the newspaper adds.
"This report isn't designed to say, 'Bad parents!' It's designed to say, 'Here's an issue you should pay attention to,' " Peter Delany, director of SAMHSA's Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, tells the Journal. "When kids under age 15 start drinking and drinking heavily, they are about six times more likely to end up with alcohol problems."
But Stanton Peele, a psychologist and author of books on addiction, tells the Journal he's not convinced any type of drinking before the age of 15 sets kids up for the risk of alcohol problems later on.
"There's a giant difference between a kid who gets totally wasted on some purloined booze in the woods with his friends, and someone who has wine at dinner with their parents or as part of a religious ceremony," Peele tells the newspaper.
According to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 86 percent of American youths have used alcohol by the time they turn 21, and 50 percent are binge drinking, downing five or more drinks in a sitting for men and four or more for women.
Although 21 is the legal drinking age in the United States, 31 states allow parents, guardians or spouses to give alcohol to minors, with seven of those states allowing it in a private residence, the Journal reports. Thirty states allow minors to drink for religious reasons.
And though there hasn't been a lot of research on the role of parents in underage drinking, findings from the United States and Europe are mixed with regard to predicting binge drinking or problems with alcohol later in life, according to the newspaper.
But U.S. government agencies and quite a few alcohol-awareness organizations contend that no amount of underage drinking should be allowed, the Journal says. They say teens who drink are at a higher risk for being involved in motor vehicle accidents, homicides, suicides and accidents of all kinds, as well as unplanned sex, pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Studies also suggest alcohol can do long-term damage to brains that are still developing in teens and even young adults in their early 20s, the Journal reports.
Conflicting information and differing cultural norms leave many parents wondering how to handle the subject of alcohol with their children. Delany tells the newspaper he's been very clear about the dangers of alcohol and drugs with his own son, and suggests parents discuss upcoming situations with their teens.
"You can say, 'There may be a lot of people drinking. Have you thought about how you're going to handle that?' Then really listen to their answers," he says.
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ReaderComments (Page 3 of 8)
3-08-2011 @ 10:16PM
Dan said...Some individuals have a pre-disposition to alcoholism, even apart from a genetic factor. Since this is difficult to predict with any measure of accuracy, I feel it best to discourage casual alcohol use by teens, even in the home.
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3-08-2011 @ 10:39PM
marcie said...I grew up with an alcoholic for a mother. There was a lot of drinking going on, with no discussion of any kind. I think the only thing that saved me was a friend told me that alcohol is a poison, that's why you get a "buzz", it's killing your brain cells and taxing your liver. You can die of alcohol poisoning by drinking too much at once, or it can slowly trash your liver as with cirrhosis. I'll never forget a "health" teacher telling us about being with someone who died of cirrhosis of the liver, they vomited blood until it killed them. They were covered with blood, the health teacher was covered with blood. She said it was horrible. I think about that before I order a 2nd or 3rd drink. A little scientific fact goes a long way.
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3-09-2011 @ 5:48AM
Ty said...Drinking becomes a big deal because adults make it a big deal. If it is not introduced before the legal age, it's a great unknown and often dove into too deeply. There is also the unfamiliarity with it's effects, aftereffects and reactions of others. Keeping kids in the dark until the day they can legally buy alcohol is absolute irresponsibility, it would be like issuing a drivers (or firearms) license without a class, test or learners permit. Handling a right or responsibility maturely comes from having had at least some exposure or familiarity to it before hand.
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3-11-2011 @ 4:25PM
What?! said...I'm shocked to find many parents allowing their teen children to drink at home. They are not adults. We need our future children to take over our nation without any substance abuse. Gee, our nation are gonna be f-ked if we are too flexible. Don't give me any lip service by saying "Oh, everybody are doing that all the time". Our children are the future leaders.
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3-08-2011 @ 11:06PM
JD said...It is not wise to drink alcohol.
It tastes terrible.
Alcohol comes from the waste product of bacteria.
Do you want to ingest that?
I have seen so many lives ruined because of alcohol.
I personally don't want anything to do with it.
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3-09-2011 @ 1:08AM
??? said...Don't use a scientific argument, you might as well say we shouldn't eat blue cheese because it has mold, or eat mushrooms because theyre grown in pig sh**
3-08-2011 @ 11:24PM
Deb said...Interesting article. I think letting them have a sip, or taste takes the allure out of it when they are out with friends, and it also depends on how strong your kids stand up to peer pressure. My son has a glass of wine with me occasionally, but it is never allowed when he has a friend visiting because that friend will be driving home.
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3-10-2011 @ 7:38PM
tylerbeach2002 said...I was given alcohol growing up. A sip or a tiny bit if I asked. And it never turned into anything else. I don't drink now. I was never really a drinker in my college years, so it depends on the person. It doesn't create an alcoholic. An Alcoholic is someone who is dependent on everything to cope with life. I don't have that issue.
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3-08-2011 @ 11:46PM
thiskidiscool said...Understanding that this is allowed on many military bases, the drinking age should be lowered to 18. At the age of 18, one may die for their country, get married, purchase cigarettes, vote for the president of this country, and have many other "adult" privileges. Why can't anyone over the age of 18 and under 21, have a drink? As long as one is responsible and in a controlled situation, then I see no problem. The problem is telling kids "no!" The more they hear it, and the more prohibited it is, the more they are going to want to do it and do it the wrong way. I understand strictness from a parent is good, I thank my mother every day for being firm with me, but also understanding. I had my first sip of beer as a younger teen and I enjoy it once in a while when I'm off at school after a long day of working and going to class. It's nice to relax after a hard day, and one little drink will not kill you.
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3-09-2011 @ 8:28AM
Mom of 3 said...I agree completely with the first part of your statement. I am a mother of 3 ... 17, 15 and 7, and a wine lover (1 girl and 2 boys) . While my choice is to follow the law, I do question it. We ask our children to be adults at 18 in every way possible with this one exception.
I have let my oldest have a sip at a family wedding (which she did not enjoy). Would I let her sit at home and have a glass of wine with me ... on her 21st birthday, yes! Will I ever let any of her friends have even a sip in front of me NO!
I think it is not another parents place to make the decision on whether or not my child should be allow to drink. It is not responsible or safe to allow them especially as young teenagers to drink in their homes.
This is a classic case of a parent wanting to be their child's friend and not their parent. Bend it or break it, what type of example are you setting for your children...
3-08-2011 @ 11:52PM
iNOdrinkAtheBooZe said...america is so clinical , and run by pleasure nazis , you all should re-instate prohibition , my God , the way this society here in america carries on and on - not every person that smokes a cig or has a drink or smokes weed is going to die and is an addict . My Lord , go F _ _ K you all's selves .
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3-08-2011 @ 11:57PM
Cynthia said...In my book, there are a lot of things to consider. My ex-husband was an alcoholic/drug addict. I feel it would have been irresponsible to allow my children to drink at home. My ex-husband, however, felt that it was just fine to give the kids drugs and alcohol. My daughter has had addiction problems since she was 16 and my son drinks alcoholically. If there's alcoholism/addiction in your family, you should never give your kids alcohol. You should explain why and encourage them to stay sober. They probably won't listen, but at least you will have done your best for them.
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3-09-2011 @ 12:01AM
rock said...If I had kids, I would not allow them to drink in the home. If the situation got out of hand, and someone drove away drunk and injured another human being, who would be resonnsible? I think the parents would. No way would I allow drinking in my house. If they wanted to live in my house, NO DRINKING! If it was in another country such as Europe and there weren't any liablity laws, I'd think I'd be more lienient. If they promised me they wouldn't drive, then that would be different. As long as it was legal in that county for a 16 or 17 year old to drink, then it would be ok. The drinking age in Europe is much lower than in the states.
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3-09-2011 @ 6:44AM
Ty said...So it's more an issue of legal liability rather than being what is right for your kid?
3-09-2011 @ 12:16AM
barryaclarke said...How can a parent regulate responsible behavior of a teen child when it cannot be taught at home?
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3-09-2011 @ 6:44AM
Ty said...It's not taught, it's learned, the two do not always exist together.
3-09-2011 @ 12:44AM
Sayward said...In my family teenagers were allowed to have a drink at family parties like Christmas around the age of 15/16. The rule was one drink be it a glass of wine, a beer or a shot of something and that was that. Although to be honest my cousins and I sometimes snuck a little extra. I think it helped me not only as an adult but more importantly as a teenager. I don't know it the taboo was taken out of it, or that I knew what it was like to be a bit tipsy and I didn't want to get that way somewhere else, but I can remember being at parties often with older kids drinking, being handed a beer even if I said I didn't want a drink and then waiting for whoever to walk away and just setting the drink down and walking away. I didn't have to have a drink to have a goodtime. Now that I'm 27 I've had alot of fun drinking over the last 6 years or so, but still continue to avoid drinking until I'm feeling out of control especially in public. I'm sure it all depends on the person, but I don't see at all how that hurt my growing up. I think it helped.
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3-09-2011 @ 12:55AM
MC said...There is an important distinction to be made. It may be helpful to allow kids to join the family in a drink on a special occasion, event, or meal. It would be unhealthy to supply kids with unlimited amounts of alcohol. What's critical is the attitude toward alcohol that the family models, if adults drink responsibly and with restraint, or do they drink to get drunk.
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3-09-2011 @ 1:02AM
PacoGerte said...God forbid anyone should do something naughty or dangerous or fun. I drank as a teen, and so did most of my friends. Some are big drinkers, some are not.
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3-09-2011 @ 1:10AM
Joseph said...There are certainly a bunch of hypocrites on this board. You folks do realize that kids start smoking cigarettes at far younger ages than they do alcohol? AND, if it's "illegal" to give *your* minor child an alcoholic beverage every once in a while because "the law says no one under 21 may drink," then how do you explain seeing 15- and 16-year old kids smoking when they're not supposed to have those either? Smoking causes a LIFETIME of health concerns ranging from asthma and other chronic lung conditions to various forms of cancers and not just to the smoker, but those around him.
Of course, to those who seem to think there should be some sort of crackdown on these "evil" parents letting teenage Bobby and Susie have a glass of wine with dinner or whatever, what's your overall opinion on the government? Do you think the government interferes too much with parental rights or do you think the government needs to step in? I ask this because if you believe that the gov't needs to be stopping all this "underage drinking," then you have NO right to complain about the gov't deciding to teach your kids sex ed in the schools. You CANNOT have it both ways.
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