Parents' Behavior "Can Influence Teen Drinking"
By Dominic Hughes - Health correspondent, BBC News
Summarized by Dingilian
The surrounding environment of a teenager greatly influences his or her later
actions as adults. For example, poor parental supervision and becoming drunk by
parents produce a greater chance of the teen to becoming drunk more than others
do. Adding to this, close friends greatly influence the teenager’s behavior, and
the more time they spend with alcoholic friends, the greater chance they have of
starting the drinking habit themselves.
Parental supervision is very important… if parents have no clue where their
children are during the night, or let them watch inappropriate shows, they are
more likely to have an alcoholic drink during that time. Don Shenker, Chief
Executive of Alcohol Concern, said the report confirms that from the beginning
of a child's life parents have strong influences on their children's future
drinking patterns.
The age of the young person also helps decide whether they will become drunk
regularly. “Being introduced to alcohol at a very young age - for example, under
10 years old - makes it more likely that they will drink, and drink to excess as
teenagers. However, there are differences in patterns across the group. So for
the older teenagers, if they are introduced to alcohol later in life via
friends, away from adult supervision, they are also more likely to drink to
excess.”
As a solution, the Royal College of Physicians also stated, “This shows that the
government needs to concentrate on increasing the price per unit of alcohol and
reducing its availability as their main priorities. In addition, increase
education and national campaigns for both young people and their families on the
dangers of alcohol.”
Perhaps the hopeful side of the matter is that parents can truly influence their
teens to develop a hopeful lifestyle, whereas adults can enjoy that occasional
alcoholic drink without becoming dependent on it.