Putting an end to parent's misconception that allowing children to taste alcohol at a young age discourages them from drinking, a new study said early introduction to alcohol escalate the risks of problem drinking during adolescence.
Dr. Christine Jackson, a social ecologist at RTI International and colleagues based their findings on 1,050 mothers and their children studying in third grade.
During the four-year-study, all the parents shared their opinion and habits of alcohol. One in four mothers thought tasting alcohol early help to eradicate children's curiosity, due to its flavor. According to another group (40 percent), keeping children away from alcohol only help in boosting their desire to have it.
Some parents provide alcohol at home to avoid peer pressure (22 percent) and some others believed it will help to avoid risky drinking in middle school (26 percent).
Later, children who participated in the study were interviewed. Researchers found a strong link between parents' conception of tasting alcohol early and alcohol use among children. Nearly 33 percent of the children reported tasting beer, wine or other alcohol.
"The idea that early exposure to alcohol can discourage a child's interest in drinking has a strong foothold among some parents of elementary school aged children," said Jackson, the study's lead author. "These findings indicate that many parents mistakenly expect that the way children drink at home, under parental supervision, will be replicated when children are with peers."
Findings of the study have been published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, recently.
A recent incident supports the parents' psychology. A Phoenix mother was in the news in July for giving her toddler son beer. According to the reports, Valerie Topete (36) poured a little bit of beer into her two-year-old son's sippy cup, when he tried to reach a pitcher of beer at a Peter Piper Pizza restaurant in Ahwatukee. After getting alerts from witnesses police reached the restaurant. The mother justified her act as a reverse psychology- thinking the taste will discourage the boy from taking the pitcher of beer.
Alcohol is one of the leading causes of injury deaths among people below 21 in the country. Previous studies have found American children starting the habit of drinking at very young ages, increasing the risks of having an alcohol use disorder.
