Parents Should Provide Alcohol to Their Teens

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Approximately 10,000 England teenagers between the ages of 15 and 16 were questioned during the study. The teens claimed that they got into more trouble when obtaining their own alcohol, as opposed to having it supplied by their parents. The survey also found that the teens claimed while supplying their own alcohol – 35.8% had drank in a public place, 45.3% had suffered memory loss after drinking, 36% had engaged in fighting, and 12.5% regretted a sexual experience. Only 20% of the teens admitted to violence after being supplied alcohol by their parents.

The study concluded that carefully introducing alcohol to children “may help them prepare themselves for life in an adult environment dominated by this drug” and that “parents who choose to allow children aged 15-16 to drink may limit harm by restricting consumption to lower frequencies.” The study also suggests that teens that drink via their parents are less likely to binge drink and warned that parents that ban alcohol might shift the problem from the family to the street.

I have a serious problem with the study itself… as it totally relies on the child to answer the question honestly. What child, if they are seeking to drink, would say: “No mom and dad please do not buy me alcohol. I would have the burden of paying for it myself and go out and try to find someone willing to sell it to me!” Of course these kids are going to say that they are less likely to get in trouble etc.. because they want their parents to buy and supply it to them.

I also have a serious problem with the overall logic of study. First, children do all sorts of things from promiscuous sex to taking drugs. Just because they might do it does not mean that we (as parents) should throw in the towel and provide them with all the resources and approval they need to do it. Second, U.S. studies have shown that those that drank under the age of 18 had a greater risk of developing a “taste for it” and triggering “predispositions for addiction.” Third, by removing the taboo element of underage drinking, parents would be removing one of the only elements that might actually deter the child from drinking at will. Finally, who is to say what age a child should be introduced to alcohol? This study was of 15 and 16 year olds, but there are plenty of kids that are being exposed or are at least curious about alcohol. Should we introduce our 14,13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4 year old to it just because they might obtain alcohol from older siblings or peers?

Of course, this is not only a scientific issue. It is a social, moral, ethical, and legal issue as well. The laws about giving an underage person alcohol and parental perception vary. While one parent might think that providing teens with alcohol is unacceptable, their peers parents may have a differing opinion. An interesting study by the University of Columbia showed just how naïve parents are about parents providing alcohol to teens. 99% of the survey parents claimed that they would never provide alcohol to their teen or anyone else’s. However, when their teens were asked if they had ever been provided alcohol at a party supervised by a parent, 28% answered yes.

Be your own judge, but I do not see how any parent can make a logical argument in favor of providing their child a mind, body, and emotional altering drug.