THINK OF THE CHILDREN, GIVE THEM BOOZE! It's always nice when things you believe are backed up by actual evidence, so I was particularly happy to read this morning that there is considerable reason to believe that children who drink with their parents are much less likely to drink irresponsibly (these quotes are from the paper which is not available for free online, see the link above for a summary or here for a WSJ article on the same topic):
If youth received alcohol from a parent or other adult relative, the respondents reported consuming fewer drinks on the last drinking occasion and were less likely to report binge drinking within the previous 2 weeks.
Further, youth who reported drinking with their parents on the most recent drinking occasion indicated that they drank fewer drinks (p < .001). Drinking with parents also appears to have a protective effect on general drinking trends. Respondents who were with their parents were about half as likely to indicate that they had drunk alcohol in the past 30 days and about one-third as likely to report that they had drunk five or more drinks in a row in the previous 2 weeks.
There may be some contexts in which parents "teach" responsible drinking behavior within a protected environment, thus sheltering teenagers from risky experimentation and alcohol abuse.
When you think about it this makes sense. Learning limits with alcohol takes time and adults who have experience with it can make sure that things don't get out of hand. We've all seen someone who went out drinking for the first time and ended up way drunker than anyone ever wants to be. Being introduced to alcohol in an environment where moderation is required is a lot better than being introduced to it in a context where binging is encouraged.
Of course, the fact that the law prevents young people from drinking in other situations where moderation is encouraged (restaurants for example) only increases the importance of parents.
The study had some other interesting findings. Black and Latino teens were less likely to binge drink, in part because they attended fewer parties where parents provided the alcohol. Religion also reduced alcohol consumption.
Mainly though, this is yet another example of how our country's uptight approach to drugs and drinking is simplistic and counter-productive.
--Sam Boyd
