During a visit to Germany at the age of 16, I discovered to my delight that there were two things I could do there that I wasn't allowed to at home. One was see the movie Pulp Fiction without my parents' permission. Second, I could buy beer.
Despite my newfound freedom, nothing too outrageous happened. I managed to visit the bierkeller without overdoing my alcohol consumption. Did my ability to drink sensibly have anything to do with the fact that my parents allowed me to drink small amounts at home throughout my teens?
It's often said that Europeans set a relaxed and healthy example when it comes to drinking, partly because children can get used to alcohol in a family environment. (Many French children are thought to drink wine with dinner at an early age, for example.) The facts don't always support this theory—there are around 200,000 deaths every year in Europe because of harmful alcohol consumption—but as a parent, you might wonder whether it's best to be relaxed or controlling when it comes to your child to alcohol.
Research done by Caitlin Abar, a graduate student at Penn State's Prevention Research and Methodology Centers, aims to answer the question. After looking at 290 college freshmen, she found that they were significantly more likely to drink heavily if they'd previously been allowed to drink by their parents.
On the face of it, the new research seems to suggest that a zero-tolerance approach to underage alcohol is best. However, the study didn't distinguish between students who drank with their parents at home during meals and those who were allowed to drink outside as well as inside the house. So, it’s possible that the students who were drinking harmfully might as teens have been drinking without any parental supervision, rather than being introduced to drinking as part of family life.
A previous study from 2004 found that that teenagers who were given alcohol for a party were likely to binge drink, but not children who drank only with their family. So, context is probably important, which the new research doesn’t take into account.
What you need to know. There are 31 states that legally allow parents to serve alcohol to underage children. In the absence of a clear message from the research, it's probably best to use your judgment about what's best for your child.
—Philip Wilson, patient editor, BMJ Group
ConsumerReportsHealth.org has partnered with The BMJ Group to monitor the latest medical research and assess the evidence to help you decide which news you should use.
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