A Word of Warning to Parents Who Let Teens Drink at Home

In a 2010 study of of parents who let their teens drink at home, Science Daily reports that they also drank more outside of the house and had an elevated risk of developing alcohol-related problems.Drinking problems included trouble with school work, missed school days and getting into fights with other people, among other issues.
The findings, say the researchers, put into question the advice of some experts who recommend that parents drink with their teenage children to teach them how to drink responsibly -- with the aim of limiting their drinking outside of the home.

The study was conducted in the Netherlands, with 428 families each of which had two children between the ages of 13 and 15. Parents and teens completed questionnaires on drinking habits at the outset and again one and two years later.

According to Dr. Haske van der Vorst,of Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands and the lead researcher on the study:

"The idea is generally based on common sense. The thinking is that if parents show good behavior -- here, modest drinking -- then the child will copy it. Another assumption is that parents can control their child's drinking by drinking with the child."

Based on this and earlier studies, van der Vorst advises parents to prohibit their child from drinking, in any setting or on any occasion.

"If parents want to reduce the risk that their child will become a heavy drinker or problem drinker in adolescence," she says, "they should try to postpone the age at which their child starts drinking."

For more information go to http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127095930.htm