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Underage Drinking: European Parents May Know Best
by
Liz Colville
Some experts suggest that American parents should take a lesson from Southern Europe and give their underage kids alcohol to remove its taboo.
30-Second Summary
European teenagers’ familiarity with alcohol use, driven by a culture of “moderate, supervised drinking within families” and lower legal drinking ages, is an increasingly attractive model for American parents, writes John Cloud in Time magazine.
Cloud outlines research on alcohol consumption in the United States that suggests that teenage drinking has fallen in recent decades, though binge drinking rates continue to fluctuate. At the same time, “social host” laws that places responsibility with over-21s for underage drinking that occurs at their home have gained momentum in more than 20 states and 100 local jurisdictions.
The key is desensitizing kids to alcohol, addiction expert Stanton Peele told Time. “Making hard-and-fast rules creates the sense that alcohol is some magical potion.”
Car accidents remain the number-one killer of American teen, while in Europe drunk driving accidents are more common among people in their mid-20s.
Another element of parenting style, academic performance, has been shown in many studies to be enhanced by “authoritative” parenting and stymied by “authoritarian” parenting, particularly among American and European families.
Cloud outlines research on alcohol consumption in the United States that suggests that teenage drinking has fallen in recent decades, though binge drinking rates continue to fluctuate. At the same time, “social host” laws that places responsibility with over-21s for underage drinking that occurs at their home have gained momentum in more than 20 states and 100 local jurisdictions.
The key is desensitizing kids to alcohol, addiction expert Stanton Peele told Time. “Making hard-and-fast rules creates the sense that alcohol is some magical potion.”
Car accidents remain the number-one killer of American teen, while in Europe drunk driving accidents are more common among people in their mid-20s.
Another element of parenting style, academic performance, has been shown in many studies to be enhanced by “authoritative” parenting and stymied by “authoritarian” parenting, particularly among American and European families.
Headline Link: ‘Should You Drink with Your Kids?’
Analyzing several recent studies on teen drinking habits, John Cloud concludes that “there are fewer young drinkers [in the U.S.], but a greater proportion of them are hard-core drinkers. Parents have helped create this paradox.” Most parents claim in surveys that they “oppose any drinking by those under 21,” but off the record many “seem to think that kids will be kids.”
Source: Time
Background: Teen drinking in the U.S. and Europe
The Washington Post observed in 2004 that Europe has relatively few incidents of teens’ driving drunk despite low drinking ages. The article credits “stiff” driving regulations: in Europe, most licenses aren’t awarded until age 18. “It’s not that young people in Europe are more careful. It’s that they haven’t got the car,” says an officer at Eurocare, a group that works toward lowering European alcohol consumption. But binge drinking rates are on the rise, according to Eurocare.
Source: The Washington Post
Eurocare recently published a report that examined connections between alcohol problems and family life in European countries, finding that children traditionally follow their parents’ example and that some children will defy their parents’ example, especially if those parents are problem drinkers.
Source: Eurocare
Not surprisingly, a 1994 study on U.S. habits, “The Relationship Between Family Structure & Adolescent Substance Abuse,” found that “intact” families, where both parents are present, have a “protective” effect on children’s alcohol habits, namely helping to reduce alcohol abuse in their children.
Source: Diane Publishing [via Google Books]
Monitoring the Future found in 2007 that binge drinking among 8th and 12th graders is on the decline, but that 10th-grade drinking levels have remained approximately flat since 2004. The disapproval rating of binge drinking is lowest among 12th graders.
Source: Monitoring the Future (PDF)
Related Topic: Authoritarian parenting and academic performance
Another major parenting issue is academic performance, which has been associated with an “authoritarian” parenting style. A 1998 study in the Merill-Palmer Quarterly reviewed earlier research and analyzed trends in academic performance based on parenting styles. Much of the research has found that authoritarian parenting, most common among American and Chinese parents, is a “controlling style that is overdemanding and nonrewarding,” and yields poorer academic results, especially among American and European children.
Source: Merill-Palmer Quarterly [via FindArticles]
Reference: Impaired driving statistics from the CDC
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has a fact sheet, “Impaired Driving,” with U.S. statistics on car accident rates, including the number of teen driver deaths caused by alcohol (16 percent in 2005) and the group that most often drives while impaired (men aged 18–20).
Source: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention
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