Parents are sowing the seeds of alcohol addiction in their children
Well-meaning parents are sowing the seeds of alcohol addiction in their children by allowing them to drink at home, experts say
- Ireland’s Health Service Executive have criticised ‘progressive’ upbringings
- They stress early exposure to drinking creates a ‘huge’ likelihood of addiction
- Comes shortly afterfigures revealed that alcohol deaths in America have soared
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Well-meaning parents are sowing the seeds of alcohol addiction in their children – by allowing them to drink at home while still underage.
That’s the warning from experts at Ireland’s Health Service Executive, who criticised ‘progressive’ upbringings in a new guide for families, this week.
The document, Alcohol and Drugs: A Parent’s Guide’, stresses that elders must exhibit a healthy relationship with drinking to avoid misuse by future generations.
Specifically, it insists that early exposure to drinking can create a ‘huge’ likelihood of full-blown addiction for youngsters in later life.
Running the risk: Well-meaning parents are sowing the seeds of alcohol addiction in their children – by allowing them to drink at home while still underage, say experts at Ireland’s HSE
Speaking at Dublin’s Cathedral Street on Monday, national clinical Eamon Keenan said that being relaxed about alcohol is misplaced.
‘While you might think your child is very sensible and very grounded, and this is a very mature and progressive way to deal with it, the reality is that when the child is outside the home, they’ve been given the imprimatur that they can drink,’ he says.
‘Therefore, they’re more likely to drink alcohol outside the home in a harmful manner.’
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He added: ‘A lot of the people who we would see now would have taken drugs or alcohol at an early age. ‘If you start using cannabis before the age of 15 you increase your risk of addiction by four times by the age of 26. So it’s about delaying that onset of the use of these substances as long as possible.’
He added that parents should demonstrate a positive relationship with alcohol so it isn’t seen used to medicate stress or emotional upset by their children in adulthood.
‘When a parent comes home from work, and says, “Oh what an awful day in work, I must have a gin and tonic now, give me a drink”, that doesn’t send out a good message to the children because that makes the children think one way of dealing with stress is to take alcohol,’ he told The Times.
‘These are the sort of messages that we don’t want to give our children.’
Careful: Parents should demonstrate a positive relationship with alcohol so it isn’t seen used to medicate stress or emotional upset by their children in adulthood
DO YOU DRINK A GLASS OF WINE EACH DAY? YOU’RE AT HIGHER RISK OF BREAST CANCER
Drinking just one small glass of wine a day raises a woman’s risk of breast cancer, a major report concluded in May 2017.
It means even following safe drinking guidelines of 14 units a week could be enough to endanger health.
A review of 119 studies, involving 12million women, found a daily glass of wine raises the risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer by 5 per cent and post-menopausal breast cancer by 9 per cent.
The authors, from the World Cancer Research Fund, estimated 12,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented in the UK each year if nobody drank alcohol.
They based their calculations on consumption of 10g of alcohol a day, the amount in 100ml of 12 per cent strength wine – less than a standard 125ml small glass.
That is equivalent to 8.75 units a week, which is well within the 14 a week limit advised by the Government.
It comes shortly after shocking figures revealed that alcohol deaths in America have soared in the past 10 years – particularly among women.
The rate of alcohol-related deaths rocketed 35 percent between 2007 and 2017.
It shot up 67 percent for women alone.
The data from the University of Washington, first reported by USA Today, comes a year after federal data showed a sharp rise in binge-drinking among women and elderly people.
To help combat a similar surge in the UK, the HSE is encouraging parents to get the conversation started with their teenagers and young people about the risks linked to alcohol.
Dr Gerry McCarney, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, notes how important it is for parents to make opportunities to have these kinds of conversations and to set boundaries for their children.
‘Trying to chat about ‘big’ things like alcohol or drugs with your teenager can feel very difficult. It is tough to find ways to stay close to your child at a time when it may feel like they’re pushing you away, but feeling loved and connected makes a huge difference to them,’ he said.
‘Teenagers and young people need their parents to steer them in the right direction, which means having conversations about these topics. This guide will help you to decide what’s OK and what’s not OK in your family, and how to let your child know.
‘Teenagers can put up a good argument, but you still have the right to set the rules and say that you don’t want them to drink until they are at least 18.’
Read the HSE report in full, here
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