Giving Kids a "Sip" of Alcohol Can Send the Wrong Message About Drinking

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That little sip of wine or beer that some parents offer<br />their kids at a wedding or on New Year’s Eve may muddle messages about alcohol,<br />according to a new study by researchers at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction<br />Studies at Brown University. The scientists surveyed middle school students for<br />three years to learn whether even a taste in early childhood was a predictor of<br />risky behavior in high school. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpwcNXWvqa9qYbHQanNxiJlMLF1AVQ9ukUKHA-CizMShDuTgP1IPYD3xAF02PSEQDiX95wWXY6jJfwCcioWWX47N3xNJ8WezT1mE4HyRl4ms_MzO2vj6-HdQDzgHUg7gWqjksdI6BA50va/s1600/shutterstock_258008378+-+alcohol+sipping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpwcNXWvqa9qYbHQanNxiJlMLF1AVQ9ukUKHA-CizMShDuTgP1IPYD3xAF02PSEQDiX95wWXY6jJfwCcioWWX47N3xNJ8WezT1mE4HyRl4ms_MzO2vj6-HdQDzgHUg7gWqjksdI6BA50va/s1600/shutterstock_258008378+-+alcohol+sipping.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Internet-based study, published in the April 1^st<br />issue of the <a href="http://www.jsad.com/doi/full/10.15288/jsad.2015.76.212">Journal<br />of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs</a>, included more than 500 Rhode Island school<br />students. More than one-third of the kids surveyed reported trying their first<br />sip of alcohol by the sixth grade, and most said that their first taste took<br />place at home. Wine and beer were the most commonly tried beverages, usually at<br />a special occasion, such as a wedding or a holiday, and adults were the primary source of the alcohol. Nearly three-quarters<br />of the children were offered sips by their own mom or dad. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The study also showed that<br />kids who sipped alcohol by the sixth grade were five times more likely to down<br />a full alcoholic beverage by the time they reached 9^th grade—26% of<br />sippers consumed a full drink versus 5.5% of non-sippers. The earlier sippers<br />were also four times more likely to get drunk or binge drink by early high<br />school, and trying alcoholic beverages earlier in life also raised a child’s<br />risk for trying other substances.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Even when the researchers<br />controlled for other factors, such as risk-taking behavior, the drinking habits<br />of parents, and a history of alcoholism in a parent, kids who’d sipped before<br />sixth grade had higher odds of alcohol use by their freshman year of high<br />school.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The take-home message:<br />Offering a child a sip of your beverage may send the wrong message, says study<br />author Kristina Jackson, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of<br />Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown School of Public Health. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Parents should provide<br />clear, consistent messages about the unacceptability of alcohol consumption for<br />youth,” Jackson advises. “Younger teens and tweens may be unable to understand<br />the difference between drinking a sip and drinking one or more drinks.<br />Certainly there are exceptions, such as religious occasions,<br />so the most important thing is to make sure that children know when drinking<br />alcohol is acceptable and when it is not.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The context of alcohol use is important, says Oscar G. Bukstein, M.D., M.P.H., medical director at DePelchin<br />Children’s Center and a clinical professor of psychiatry at Baylor College of<br />Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, who was not<br />involved in the research. “Often, by allowing children to sip or try alcohol on<br />‘special occasions’, the message delivered may be one of ‘this is how we<br />celebrate’, we drink,” Buckstein says.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He says that sipping may be associated with increased access to<br />alcohol, too, or more lax parent attitudes and that undermines any anti-drinking<br />messages kids hear.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">April 21^st is the national day to talk with your kids<br />about alcohol. Visit <a href="http://www.madd.org/underage-drinking/the-power-of-parents/">Mothers<br />Against Drunk Driving’s (MADD) Power of Parents</a><br />page to learn more. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">by Mary Brophy Marcus, health writer, APA</span></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /> <br /></div> <br /></div>

alcohol binge drinking drinking family health substance abuse teens wellness Giving Kids a "Sip" of Alcohol Can Send the Wrong Message About Drinking

That little sip of wine or beer that some parents offer their kids at a wedding or on New Year’s Eve may muddle messages about alcohol, a...

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