Doctors Say Parents Should Talk to Their Kids About Dangers of Alcohol Before They Turn 10

Having a talk with your children about alcohol BEFORE they take their first sip is crucial, according to a just-released report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

As a committee of doctors wrote in the report, “Surveys indicate that children start to think positively about alcohol between ages 9 and 13 years. 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.”

Some alarming points raised in the report reinforce why it’s so important to talk to young kids about the dangers of alcohol:

• 21% of youth acknowledge having had more than a sip of alcohol before 13 years of age, and most (79%) have done so by 12th grade.
• Among youth who drink, the proportion who drink heavily is higher than among adult drinkers, rising from approximately 50% in those 12 to 14 years of age to 72% among those 18 to 20 years of age.
• 36% to 50% of high school students currently drink alcohol, and 28% to 60% of them report binge drinking. Nearly two-thirds of these students reported binge drinking on more than one occasion in the past 30 days.

Parents, I urge you to have the talk. The vast majority of teenagers (80%) say you — their parents — are the biggest influence on their decision whether to drink. And that influence doesn’t end when the kids go off to college. A 2013 study found that parental communication on alcohol use before college entry was more likely to prevent nondrinking students from transitioning to heavy drinking status and was also 20 times more likely to reduce heavy drinking patterns among those who had started this drinking pattern before college entry than among students who did not receive parental advice.

In addition to the parental conversations, the AAP physicians also recommend that at every office visit pediatricians should be screening children for alcohol use and offering advice aimed at preventing substance abuse.

If you’re not sure how to start the conversation with your child, there are people who can help you. Guidance counselors at your child’s school or clinicians at local substance abuse and treatment centers can offer you suggestions and guidelines for having this critical talk.

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