UK Mass Drinking Child Report Released; US Parents Supervising More

While friends play a critical role in peer drinking habits, family has a strong direct and indirect influence. The parent or guardian has a particularly strong influence on their child's behavior. This ranges from the point at which alcohol is introduced, to exposure to adult drinking and drunkenness, to the amount of supervision placed on a young person (such as knowing where their child is on a Saturday evening or how many evenings their child spends with friends). 

A new 91 page report released this week by The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, United Kingdom delves deeper into this issue. (see below for link to full report) 

There are critical points where a carefully timed intervention could generate a positive outcome by reducing the likelihood that a young person will drink frequently and drink to excess. These interventions require co-ordination at a national, local and frontline level involving families, schools and support. 

Claire Turner, from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: 

"This research shows that parents can have more influence on their teenagers' behavior than perhaps many assumed. Both what parents say and how they behave have a strong impact on their teenagers' drinking, drinking regularly and drinking to excess."

In fact, more often parents are giving their children alcohol. In total, 30% of the liquor being drunk by under aged youth is provided by adults or relatives. Some 709,000 youngsters aged 12 to 14 in the United States are drinking beer, liquor and other alcoholic beverages, a new federal study found. Drinking as a youth is a gateway to potentially lifelong alcoholism. 

On the other side of the pond, U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. said: 

"People who begin drinking alcohol before the age of 15 are six times more likely than those who start at age 21 and older to develop alcohol problems. Parents and other adults need to be aware that providing alcohol to children can expose them to an increased risk for alcohol abuse and set them on a path with increased potential for addiction."

In the past month alone, more than 200,000 kids were given alcohol by a parent or other adult family member, according to a report from SAMHSA. 

Peter Delany, director of SAMHSA's Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality continues: 

"About 5.9% of 12- to 14-year-olds have used alcohol in the past month. That's a pretty large number. And almost all of these kids got that alcohol for free. Anecdotally, parents say, 'Well, at least they are drinking at home and not on the street, or at least they are not smoking marijuana' -- all kind of silly things. If you want to have a big impact on preventing problems with youth alcohol use, it starts at home. This is a wholly preventable behavior."