Lock Up The Liquor
Parents are giving their children alcoholic beverages at a much higher rate than most people realize. Some 709,000 youngsters aged 12 to 14 in the United States are drinking beer, liquor and other alcoholic beverages, a new federal study found. Drinking as a youth is a gateway to potentially lifelong alcoholism.
U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. said: "People who begin drinking alcohol before the age of 15 are six times more likely than those who start at age 21 and older to develop alcohol problems. Parents and other adults need to be aware that providing alcohol to children can expose them to an increased risk for alcohol abuse and set them on a path with increased potential for addiction."
In the past month alone, more than 200,000 kids were given alcohol by a parent or other adult family member, according to a report from SAMHSA.
Peter Delany, director of SAMHSA's Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality continues: "About 5.9% of 12- to 14-year-olds have used alcohol in the past month. That's a pretty large number. And almost all of these kids got that alcohol for free. Anecdotally, parents say, 'Well, at least they are drinking at home and not on the street, or at least they are not smoking marijuana' -- all kind of silly things. If you want to have a big impact on preventing problems with youth alcohol use, it starts at home. This is a wholly preventable behavior."