Does Giving Kids Alcohol Actually Protect Them?
By
Parents have different approaches to trying to keep their kids safe from the potential dangers of underage drinking. The best way to encourage kids to make good decisions when it comes to alcohol and their health has never found a single definition. Each family has different values, morals, ethics, and relationships to alcohol. Some families have alcoholism in their DNA while others do not. One hypothesis which continues to be tested is: if
I
am the one giving my kid alcohol, will they be safer? Many parents run on the assumption that their teens or pre-teens will encounter alcohol as some point and will choose to participate in drinking or partying. In order to avoid influence from others, parents seek to jump the gun and help their kids get to the point more safely. Child psychologists and researchers have argued this philosophy with little resolve. Recently, a study published in the journal
The Lancet Public Health
examined whether or not parents giving their teenagers alcohol actually benefited their teens or protected their teens in anyway.
The study covered six years following teenagers in Australia between the ages of 12 and 18 years old. Ultimately the study concluded that when parents provide teenagers with alcohol, teenagers are more likely to turn elsewhere for alcohol. If parents had given their teens alcohol for one year, the teens were twice as likely to find alcohol elsewhere the next year, according to
The Daily Nation
. Additionally, parents providing their teens with alcohol had no influence on their teenager's decision making when it came to drinking responsibly. In fact, the research found that teens who were provided alcohol by their parents were more likely to binge drink and engage in other symptoms of alcohol abuse.
Alcohol is a mind altering substance. No matter if a teenager finds alcohol through a parent or a friend, the person handing over the alcohol doesn't change the alcohol, unless it has been directly modified. Once a teenager consumes alcohol, their brain chemistry changes. Research has found that alcohol abuse in developmental ages can cause permanent brain damage. Abusing alcohol in teenager years can contribute to the development of an alcohol use disorder in teenagehood or adulthood.
If you believe your adolescent or teenage male might be struggling with an alcohol abuse problem, the time is now for intervention and treatment. Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center offers long term residential treatment programs with academic support systems designed to help your boy heal in mind, body, and spirit, while working toward a brighter future. Located in the rolling countryside of Mississippi, our remote location and rich natural surroundings offer the haven your child needs to recover. Call us today for information: 662-598-4214
