Now that Christmas celebrations are approaching, it is common for adults to toast with wine or an alcoholic beverage to celebrate. In some cases, when their children are older but not yet of legal age to do so, some parents allow them or offer to try some alcohol.
According to a study, one in six parents allows their children to drink alcohol at age 14, something that could have terrible consequences.
The study
According to a statement published on the website of the Center for Longitudinal Studies of the United Kingdom Institute of Education, this analysis was conducted using the results of various studies and It was found that 17% of parents offer an alcoholic beverage to their children around the age of 14.
The researchers also examined reports of parents' habits with alcohol consumption, as well as their employment status and the education they had received. It was found that mainly the parents who had a good educational level were those who used to offer or give alcohol to their children ahead of time.
AdvertisingIn this regard, Professor Jennifer Maggs, who was the lead author of the study commented that this occurs because the parents of young people who have certain social advantages they may believe that allowing them to drink will teach them to do so responsibly. However, there is not much evidence that doing this really works and could even cause them to start consuming too young.
The researchers concluded the following: "While social disadvantages in a child's life can predict many long-term health problems, parents of children with social advantages seem to see alcohol use as somewhat risky.".
In the same statement they mention that Katherine Brown, the director of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, states that it is not a good idea to offer it ahead of time:"We recommend that a child without alcohol is the best, without children drinking alcohol before age 15. This is important because alcohol could harm children, since their bodies and brains are not yet fully developed.".
