Research carried out in the US has shown that children who are offered a ‘sip’ of their parents’ wine at social occasions are more likely to start drinking by their mid-teens.
The research found that, more and more, parents are offering alcohol to their children in a bid to demystify the taboo surrounding it, but this may be having the opposite effect.
The study, carried out by researchers from Brown University in Rhode Island, surveyed 561 middle-school students over a period of three years.
By the age of 11, it was found that almost 30% of pupils had sipped alcohol and, in most cases, that alcohol had been provided by their parents.
In a rather alarming finding, it was found that by the time the children have reached the ages of 14 and 15, a quarter of early ‘sippers’ had had a full alcoholic drink; this was in comparison with the 6% who had not ‘sipped’ at an early age.
Additionally, almost one-in-ten of the early sippers admitted to have gotten drunk or binged, compared to the 2% of ‘non-sippers’.
Commenting on the findings, study author Kristina Jackson said that parents thinking of adopting the ‘European’ approach to introducing alcohol, through early sipping, need to heed this warnings.
Furthermore, Dr Paul Wallace of Drinkaware.ie, added: “It’s best to talk to your child about the risks associated with drinking. You have more influence than you might think.”
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