Letting teens drink alcohol at home may lead to heavier alcohol use as young adults, study finds
Some parents might think that letting their teenager try alcohol at home under supervision can diminish curiosity about alcohol and help promote safe drinking. But a new study in the journal Addictive Behaviors found that parents providing drinks — or even just letting underage kids taste alcohol — is linked to heavier drinking and alcohol-related issues down the line.
"A robust relationship was found between parental permission to use alcohol during adolescence and increased alcohol use frequency and quantity, alcohol use disorder symptoms, and alcohol-related harms in young adulthood," the study says.
The study also found that the exact age of kids when their parents allowed them to drink "was not associated with later alcohol use outcomes, suggesting a uniform risk effect of parental permission to drink."
Clinical psychologist Lisa Damour, author of "The Emotional Lives of Teenagers," said there are plenty of families that let their kids try alcohol, and those kids don't have problems in the moment or down the line.
"But on balance, what the data tell us is that this is not necessarily the right choice. And what it can do is it can normalize the idea of underage drinking, which is not something we want to do," Damour said Friday on "CBS Mornings Plus."
"It's not the harm reduction approach we thought it is," she said.
Damour said kids learn about drinking from watching their parents at home, so parents should model a healthy relationship with alcohol, if they have one at all.
"So, we don't use it for coping, we use it in moderation, and we also make it clear: you can have a good time without drinking," she said.
She also advises keeping open lines of communication with teenagers and focusing on safety.
"I think it's also important to recognize: kids make mistakes," she said. "I think it's important for us to say to kids, 'Look, we don't want you drinking. It is not safe. It's not good for your developing brain. And, if you need us, if you're in a risky situation, we're your first call. We will never make you sorry that you reached out for help.'"
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