Every fourth mother gives her child alcohol
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Every fourth mother thinks that if a young child is given a taste of alcohol, it will discourage him from drinking alcohol when he is a teenager.
Quite a different opinion among 40% of women who believe that if you strictly forbid children to even approach alcoholic beverages, it will only provoke them and increase interest in the forbidden.
These are the results of a survey of scientists from the University of North Carolina and the research institute RTI International.
The goal of the specialists was to find out why and why some parents add children to alcohol from childhood. Also, experts analyzed the methods of education in such families.
"The belief that drinking from early childhood can prevent further child interest is especially common among families who have children, primary school students," commented Christine Jackson, sociologist and lead author of the study.
All conclusions of scientists are based on surveys and questionnaires of 1,050 mothers, whose children study in the third grade.
The participants of the study told about their alcohol addictions and expressed their opinion on whether it is possible to give alcohol to children. It turned out that about a quarter of the respondents already allowed their children to try alcoholic beverages. In their opinion, in this way they simply "remove" the unapproachable attractiveness of the forbidden fruit from alcohol.
40% categorically oppose that children try alcohol, because, in their opinion, this will only encourage them to use it in the future.
22% believe that it's better for a child to try a drink of alcohol at home than siphon excess in the company of peers.
26% said that it is probably better to "acquaint" the child with alcohol at home, but definitely not at the age of 10 years.
"These results indicate that parents erroneously hope that children who use a small amount of alcohol at home, under supervision, will behave the same way in the company of peers, that is, they do not exceed, in their opinion, a safe dose," the study authors comment. "In order to understand where this opinion comes from, further research is needed in this direction."
About 33% of children, participants in the experiment, told experts that they had already tried beer, wine or other alcohol.
Researchers have identified a strong relationship between the use of alcohol by children and the attitude of their parents. Most of those who have already tried alcohol taste, knew that at home they are positive about this.
This is a very serious problem, because the use of alcohol at an early age is the main risk factor for the emergence of alcohol dependence already in adolescence.
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