Should Parents Let Their Kids Sip Alcohol?

According to a common line of reasoning. Early sips of alcohol and parental supervision of drinking can protect children from alcohol abuse later,  As evidence of this many parents point to Europe, where legal drinking ages are lower or unenforced, and table wine flows at every meal.

In a recent report, experts on addiction compiled evidence on alcohol sipping among children and attempted to link it with statistics about problem drinking later in life.

• 7% of 12-year-olds had consumed an entire standard alcoholic beverage
• More than 1/2 of 12-year-olds have already had a sip
• About 1/3 have by age 8

The question for parents will be: 'Does that matter?’

There isn’t much national data on the topic. So the researchers, led by Dr. John E. Donovan, a psychiatrist and epidemiologist at the University of Pittsburgh, used community surveys conducted in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County. They call it the Tween to Teen Project, from which they've just reported two main findings.

children who said they had tasted alcohol said their parents were OK with it. The parents, in interviews, confirmed their children’s perceptions, indicating at least a common understanding between the parents and their children about alcohol use before the age of 12.Scientists discovered that these children were no more likely than their non-sipping peers to be involved “in other kinds of problem behavior in adolescence.

Donovan and his colleagues aren’t so sure. Other studies have shown that having a sip before 10 leads to having “more than a sip” before age 15. “Early-onset drinking is associated with numerous negative outcomes."

 Ultimately, they say, it’s best to err on the side of caution until more conclusive evidence comes out. "This research suggests that if children do not see their parents as strongly disapproving of child sipping, the children will be more likely to take a first step into alcohol use."

For more information please view the full story here medicaldaily.com