Parents urged to teach children how to drink sensibly

Research carried out by the Liverpool John Moores University's Centre for Public Health suggests that drinking alcohol sensibly is a life skill that needs to be taught.

The report says that teenagers who buy their own alcohol are more likely to become binge drinkers, and drink in public places, compared with those who have their alcohol purchased for them by their parents, who will be able to control their consumption.

The survey took in 10,000 children aged 14 and 15 in northwest England, and found that up to 90 per cent of the sample drink alcohol and about 40 per cent binge drink.

The report suggests universal age checks on alcohol purchasers who appear to be under the age of 21, and the imposition of severe penalties for anyone who sells alcohol to minors. The report's lead author, Mark Bellis said: "The ability to drink alcohol sensibly is not a gift people are born with but one that must be learnt. By the age of 15, the vast majority of young people are already using alcohol and this study suggests that those who do so with their parents are more likely to avoid the most dangerous drinking behaviours".

"We still have a great deal to learn about how parents can best act as alcohol role models and educators for their children," Prof. Bellis said. "However, a Mediterranean approach to alcohol consumption, with food and with restraint, is unlikely to ever develop in the UK unless parents demonstrate such behaviours and help develop them in their children."