Children under 15 should never be given alcohol, England's chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson has advised. Do you think this is good advice?

 

Sir Liam Donaldson has also called for parents to supervise any older children given alcohol.

 

Ministers and doctors in the UK are worried by rising rates of both binge-drinking and alcohol-related liver disease. The British public will be asked for its views on the advice during a consultation period.

 

Some parents, and researchers, have argued that giving children an occasional drink helps demystify it. But Sir Liam will insist that an "alcohol free" childhood is the healthiest option.

 

source: BBC news

 

Do you think this wll have any affect on underage drinking in the UK?

No

 

Parents should teach kids RESPONSIBLE drinking

 

I think 11-15 year olds should be encouraged to drink at home as it builds up a tolerance to alcohol

 

A lot of the problem is kids who are not used to drinking going out at 16 and having 7 or 8 pints and so on, alcohol is fine if used responsibly

Do you think this wll have any affect on underage drinking in the UK?

No :lol:

 

It's so easy to go down to the park or a friends house on Friday night and get a drink. And (seriously), around 90% of the time they (+ me) have got drink from parents. Thing is though, drinking a lot of the time is used responsibly, it's just the thick shits who come out from clubs who purposely binge drink to get off their face.

No

 

Parents should teach kids RESPONSIBLE drinking

 

I agree with that... When I was about 11/12, my folks would let me have a glass (as in singular) wine with dinner, at X-Mas and New Year, I was also allowed ONE drink.... I think it did help me build up a tolerance tbh... It's the unsupervised binge-drinking done by 13/14/15 year olds that's the problem not parents supervising and ensuring that there kids actually have a respect for alcohol....

 

If one looks to European countries such as France or Italy, parents there do exactly the same thing, it would be unthinkable in those cultures for someone for the Govt to come along and say this, because a glass of wine with the family meal is part of the very heart of those countries... And, they dont seem to have even a fraction of the problems we do in UK with underage binge drinking.... So, er, who's right on this issue, us or the French/Italians.....? It's the same as with sex education really, we get it so wrong, but the Scandinavians and the Dutch get it so right.... I think in a lot of what's going on in this country that's bad, we're really our own worst enemies....

it's just the thick shits who come out from clubs who purposely binge drink to get off their face.

 

TBH, you prob have a point there... Binge drinking 'Sharons and Waynes' are probably far more of a problem... And some of these drinks promos in chain pubs which just totally encourage binge drinking....

 

Drinking with moderation can be a good thing, however I can undestand why some parents would prefer their children not to drink any. It´s specially hard to ask for moderation for people who are too young, and concerning a substance that causes dependence and different reactions to different people, who cannot be 100% predicted. 3,7% of the deaths that happen in the world are related to alcohol (either because of diseases caused by it, or car crashes and violence), and millions of other people are affected negatively by it. I´d say the good things of alcohol (making people more social and fun) hardly make up for the tragedies that this death industry causes. Consuming it is supporting it, and giving more money to be invested in propaganda that will help leading more and more people into alcoholism.

Edited February 1, 200916 yr by Overstaged

No

 

Parents should teach kids RESPONSIBLE drinking

 

I think 11-15 year olds should be encouraged to drink at home as it builds up a tolerance to alcohol

 

A lot of the problem is kids who are not used to drinking going out at 16 and having 7 or 8 pints and so on, alcohol is fine if used responsibly

Exactly

It's parents' and children's responsibility. <_<

Edited February 1, 200916 yr by funmaker11

Drinking with moderation can be a good thing, however I can undestand why some parents would prefer their children not to drink any. It´s specially hard to ask for moderation for people who are too young, and concerning a substance that causes dependence and different reactions to different people, who cannot be 100% predicted.

 

This is true, alcoholism is a disease and many people do experience dependence... but how many teenagers do? I think the biggest problem with teenage drinking is the "forbidden fruit" kind of culture surrounding it. When you're raised to believe even a drop of alcohol is wrong or not acceptable, you may want to try it even more.

 

As far as teenage binge drinking, some of blame must lie with ignorance. Kids who don't know the difference between a glass of beer and a glass of vodka, don't understand how alcohol takes up to 30 minutes to take hold, don't conceive of drinking alcohol without getting drunk... they are more likely to drink themselves silly and do something stupid. And I believe introducing alcohol in incremental amounts at a younger age may help educate kids about alcohol.

 

 

a kid that wants to drink will find a way to get a drink whether their parents allow it or not. my whole issue with this is should parents break the law with their kids and the answer is no. the limit is 21. wait till you're 21 and go for it. a person with an addictive personality will find SOMETHING to be addicted to. also, kids tend to mimic their parents behavior. be responsible and educate the kiddies.

I think it might be helpful, especially cause the parents will have the opportunity to teach their children to be responsible on the drinking matter and the kids will also build some tolerance towards alcohol.

 

I remember when I was a kid, my parents would let me have a cup of cider or wine to make a toast on Christmas or New Year's Eve.

 

With supervision I don't think there should be any problem. The problem comes when you go to bars and clubs and you see these teenagers drinking like there's no tomorrow and nobody cares to ask them for IDs, nobody seem to give a toss as long as they keep selling the booze.

No

 

Parents should teach kids RESPONSIBLE drinking

 

agreed

 

end of discussion! :lol:

 

but seriously, historically kids were given alcohol, it was regarded as a food, not as a treat...

Drinking with moderation can be a good thing, however I can undestand why some parents would prefer their children not to drink any. It´s specially hard to ask for moderation for people who are too young, and concerning a substance that causes dependence and different reactions to different people, who cannot be 100% predicted. 3,7% of the deaths that happen in the world are related to alcohol (either because of diseases caused by it, or car crashes and violence), and millions of other people are affected negatively by it. I´d say the good things of alcohol (making people more social and fun) hardly make up for the tragedies that this death industry causes. Consuming it is supporting it, and giving more money to be invested in propaganda that will help leading more and more people into alcoholism.

 

Alcohol itself is not the problem though, alcohol is just like any other drug, it's a thing, it's not in and of itself destructive.... It's the lack of respect people have for it that's the problem.... Consie has it spot on IMO, if you're brought up to believe that alcohol is "bad" and drugs are "bad" and "just say no" and "dont do drugs", then, in my experience that just draws attention to it and makes it infinitely more attractive.... If alcohol and drugs were just treated as "facts of life", then I dont think we'd have half the problems we do....

 

If one looks at Holland and the legalisation of Marijuana as an example, who is it that's getting off their faces and fukked up on skunk and dont know how to deal....? Bloody TOURISTS :rolleyes: particularly Brits and Yanks, the Dutch themselves are far more sensible with it because for them, it's just a fact.....

 

As usual, most of us are agreed that the forbidden nature of these things make them altogether more attractive. If smoking wasn't outlawed until 18 then I'm pretty sure nobody would ever take it up.

 

The main reason parties won't look at the Dutch example and introduce similar legislation is because they'll lose so many voters. It seems that to be elected in the UK or USA you have to resort to right of centre policies which means pandering to right-wing moral guardians who ignore evidence in favour of a deeply-held belief that "I was brought up that way". Yes, you were - it doesn't mean it was always right. In this case there is irrefutable evidence that, OVER TIME, a relaxing of the laws rather than a tightening will lead to a more civilized society.

We were brought up on the understanding that alcohol is fine when you are being responsible. Try drugs if you want, but be prepared for the effects etc. Now myself and my sister don't drink, smoke or do drugs. We don't think it's wrong, we just aren't interested.

 

Banning anything isn't good. It just makes teenagers want to try it because it's illegal. And I think the main problem is not underage teens drinking, it's the people serving the underage teens drink. Again, nothing wrong with alcohol, but teenagers have a fuzzy vision of where the line is. They don't know where to stop. "Six drinks? Eight drinks? Sure, I'll have another one!"

 

The legal requirement should stay at 18. Raising it now won't do any good.

We were brought up on the understanding that alcohol is fine when you are being responsible. Try drugs if you want, but be prepared for the effects etc. Now myself and my sister don't drink, smoke or do drugs. We don't think it's wrong, we just aren't interested.

Well, that might be the right aproach concerning "soft" drugs such as alcohol or nicotine. However, there are some drugs that can build instant dependence on first use and have disastrous consequences. There´s nothing wrong with teaching kids that some things are wrong and shouldn´t be taken. It´s not a rule that they´ll try desperately anything that´s forbidden, unless the parents are completely irresponsible and have minimal participation on their education. Concerning illegal but softer drugs, such as marijuana, I would rather say to my kids that until they´re living under this roof they´re not taking it. Parents should have some authority.

 

One good point that I would teach my kids is drugs usually don´t have any advantage. There´s no point in using something that in most cases, only brings bad consequences. Teenagers usually try drugs not because they think it tastes good, but because their friends are using it and they need it in order to be considered "cool". For example, vodka and cigarattes tastes HORRIBLY when you´re taking it for the first times... It only becomes "good" after you took it many times and your body had already developed some type of dependence. So, taking something that tastes bad, costs money, and have bad consequences to your health, with the only advantage of making you cooler in the eyes of other people is a complete lack of intelligence IMO.

Speaking as a 16 year old, its practically impossible to keep anyone near my age from drinking.. All i have to say to my parents is "Im going to stay out for the night" and i can do pretty much whatever i want that night. And my parents arent exactly the push over parents that let their kids get away with murder (literally) and still make out like they are little angels. Anyway, I agree with the responsible drinking..

Edited February 2, 200916 yr by Joao.

Well, we knew Cocaine and Heroin were bad, and my parents knew we wouldn't try them. But they knew marijuana is something most kids do these days and the "be prepared" attitude was towards drugs like that. Of course, parents should never let the kids try. But they know that if we're at a party or when we're 18, authority goes out the window and they can't do much about it.

 

And I agree with your teaching method. There are no advantages, and cigarettes, drink and drugs do cost a lot over time. Health being a main factor, also. :)

Edited February 2, 200916 yr by Cal★