Source: Telegraph >> Read Full Article and Comment
Parents are underestimating their influence on children’s drinking habits, according to a Government campaign.
More than half of young people who have drunk alcohol say they are usually given it by their parents, according to a study commissioned by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
And children in households where adults drink heavily are more likely to drink themselves.
Under the Why Let Drink Decide? campaign, new cinema adverts targeted at young people will show the risks associated with alcohol.
Local authorities will be handed ”good practice guides” to help them work with other services, such as the police, to stop under-age drinking from becoming a problem in their area.
More than 2,000 youngsters are today playing in a Kickz football tournament, which will encourage those taking part to have discussions about the dangers of under-age drinking.
Parents will also be given advice on under-age drinking to allow them to talk to their teenagers about the issue, ministers said.
The new research, which questioned more than 4,000 parents, children and young people, reveals one in four (26%) of youngsters said their parent had never talked to them about alcohol.
Almost one in ten (9%) are unaware that their child has ever drunk alcohol.
Some 17% of parents said they had thought about what to do if drinking was becoming a problem for their child, but eight in ten (80%) said they would just deal with it when it happens… Continue Reading
