Are “Sips of Alcohol” given by Parents Bad?
Many parents believe that allowing their children to drink alcohol while at home in order to keep and eye on them and shape their drinking habits is a good thing. Often, parents allow their children small “sips” while growing up under their care. A new study shows that this is not safe and does not teach responsible drinking.
Published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, the new study, involving 561 students, shows that children who try alcohol by the sixth grade were more likely to abuse alcohol later in life or start drinking earlier than they otherwise would. Interestingly, researchers found that beer or wine are usually the first type of alcohol children are exposed to. Most children were just given sips of alcohol by their parents at social gatherings or during holiday events. But, researchers found that among these children who had been exposed previously, by sixth grade, about 30 percent of them had tried alcohol on their own. Then, by ninth grade, the study reports that a quarter of those who had tried the alcohol as children had ingested a full sized drink. Further, nine percent of those ninth graders had also already participated in binge drinking.
In contrast, only six percent of their classmates had not tried alcohol — nor had they been given sips of alcohol by their parents. Also, only two percent of the group who had not been given alcohol as children reported having had participated in binge drinking.
The study indicates that while one sip or taste of alcohol provided by parents is not to blame for the early use of alcohol, parents are giving the wrong idea and sending mixed messages when they introduce their children to alcohol at young ages.
Sources: The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs