A great fact sheet from Paul Dillon, Founder of Drug & Alcohol Training Australia (DARTA) about how to introduce alcohol to your children
Health professionals and parenting experts are still finding out the best way for parents to introduce alcohol to their children. What
is clear is that alcohol consumption during childhood can have a detrimental effect on development and drinking during the teenage years is related to a wide range of health and social problems.
This means that the earlier a child starts using alcohol, the greater the risk of problems in the future. An important message to parents about the introduction of alcohol is clear: hold off for as long as you can!
The research evidence is unclear about the potential benefits and risks of allowing children to have small amounts of alcohol.
Key steps to follow when considering introducing alcohol to your child include:
- delay your child’s first drink of alcohol for as long as possible
be honest about your own alcohol use and be a good role model - create rules and boundaries create meaningful consequences
- make sure your child knows that rules are negotiable as they get older
To continue reading visit https://darta.net.au/wordpress-content/uploads/2017/03/PARENTS-2017-INTRODUCING-CHILD-TO-ALCOHOL.pdf