Should You Give Your Teenager Alcohol?

Many parents who give their teenage children alcohol to teach them “drinking moderately” are utterly mistaken. Scientists have found that these children are significantly more likely to become alcoholics.

You can often see how mothers and fathers give their teenage children half a glass of champagne or some wine to “teach drinking alcohol.” Adults argue that if children start drinking alcohol under their control, they will not abuse it in the future. After all, children are often drawn to the forbidden fruit, and if the ban on alcohol is removed, it will not be so attractive. In addition, parents believe that they can teach children to “drink properly”.

Experts of the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies have watched 2000 families for 4 years. It turned out that in those families where parents were trying to teach children moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages, there was a significantly greater risk for the children to face the initial stage of teenage alcoholism by the age of 16. The author of the study said that the results shocked the researchers themselves.

It has been proved impossible to teach children to drink, and parents do not achieve the goals they pursue. If teenagers aged 14-15 are gradually accustomed to alcohol, it becomes a major cause for adolescent alcoholism. The study’s authors urge parents to stop such practices.

Teenage alcohol abuse increases the risk of STDs, various injuries, risky behavior, drug addiction, as well as real alcoholism. Adolescents, whose brain is not fully developed, have weak containment zones, so alcoholism develops in them much more easily than in adults.