The American Academy of Paediatrics recently published tips for parents on talking with children about alcohol. It was found out that having the "booze talk" should take place before kids can take their first try of alcohol.
According to the study as reported in the Tribune, this moment should actually happen as early as 9 years old. Pediatricians and parents alike should already warn children by age 9 the possible harmful effects associated with drinking. The AAP physicians particularly discussed the dangers of binge drinking, which increases the risk of everything from earlier sexual activity to drunk driving to suicide. Almost 50 percent of high school students currently drink alcohol and within that group, almost 60 percent binge drink according to the authors of the study.
More so, almost 80 percent acknowledged drinking before graduating high school. By the age of 13, 21 percent has had a sip of alcohol already. "Alcohol is the substance most frequently used by children and adolescents in the United States, and its use in youth is associated with the leading causes of death and serious injury at this age", as said in the study.
"Surveys indicate that children start to think positively about alcohol between ages 9 and 13 years," the doctors wrote in the report. "The more young people are exposed to alcohol advertising and marketing, the more likely they are to drink, and if they are already drinking, this exposure leads them to drink more. Therefore, it is very important to start talking to children about the dangers of drinking as early as 9 years of age."
In support, Dr. Lorena Siqueira, clinical professor of Pediatrics at Florida International University and a co-author of the study, "kids are starting to develop impressions about alcohol as early as 9 years". That's the main reason to start talking to kids about alcohol before they reach middle school. More so, about 80 percent say parents, not friends or advertisements, play the biggest influence over them when it comes to trying their first sip of alcohol.
A 2013 study supports showing that parental communication about alcohol before college helps prevent students from becoming heavy drinkers. With this data, parents should not put off talking to their kids about alcohol. Alcohol use has been linked to car accidents, homicides and suicides, which are the leading causes of death and serious injury among adolescents. Not to mentioned liver disease as well as depression.
