Some worrisome statistics strongly suggest we need to change how and when we present the facts about alcohol to our kids - it's a lot more dangerous than most people think, and we need start telling them about it a lot younger. Too many kids are trying alcohol at the middle school level, and researchers say alcohol is dangerous to developing brains. It also makes it more likely they'll become alcohol abusers later in life and wind up needing alcohol rehab.
Some of these statistics are alarming:
* By the eighth grade, about 40 percent of American students say they've had some alcohol
* About 10 percent of fourth-graders and 29 percent of sixth-graders say they've already tried alcohol
* Roughly 47 percent - nearly half - of people who began drinking before age 14 became dependent on alcohol later in their lives. Which means that if you allow alcohol before that age, there's a 47 percent chance they'll need alcohol rehab.
* Only 9 percent of those who began drinking at age 21 or older became dependent on alcohol.
* 35 percent of Texas sixth-graders had drunk alcohol at least once
* 18 percent of fourth-graders surveyed in Texas had drunk alcohol at least once
* 9 percent of 9- to 12-year-olds in a national survey said they'd had more than a few sips of alcohol
* 4 percent of sixth-graders in a national survey reported that they had drunk alcohol in the past month
* In the U.S. today, there are nearly 18 million people who need alcohol rehab and it's likely that at least half of them began drinking when they were under 21 - probably way under 21.
These are only a few of the statistics that are driving an ongoing study on children's use of alcohol by University of Pittsburgh Medical Center professor John Donovan. His findings that link alcohol dependency to the age one starts drinking agree with many other researchers. And he has found that kids are trying alcohol a lot younger than most people think, which may be even more likely to lead to alcohol addiction and the need for alcohol rehab in their later teens or 20s.
"Parents should know that even when they give children alcohol in family contexts, there is still a risk that their children would be more likely to be involved in problematic use later on," Donovan said.
Parents need to talk to their kids and make sure they understand the dangers. In a statement last March announcing the "National Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking," Acting Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu said that kids who start drinking before age 15 "are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life."
He also said new research indicates that alcohol harms the developing adolescent brain. Just imagine what it's doing to an 8 or 10-year-old's brain. And liver disease, a consequence of alcoholism historically seen only among middle-aged people, has begun to appear in young adults in their 20s.
It's time for parents to take action: the consequences of not doing so could result in your kid becoming alcohol dependant or addicted and needing alcohol rehab. Parents with young children should use the following topics as a guide to talk to their kids about alcohol:
1. Explain what "dependency" means. Get some examples.
2. Explain that the younger someone starts drinking alcohol, the more likely they are to become dependent on it. It's an addictive substance.
3. Explain that alcohol is actually poison (look it up if you don't believe me). Young bodies need food, water and fresh air, not poison, or they will not develop properly.
4. Give examples of what alcohol addiction can do to behavior, robbing people of the desire and ability to achieve their goals. Don't sugar coat it, but don't scare them into nightmares, either.
5. Tell them that people with a real alcohol dependency can almost never stop drinking on their own, and that they'll ruin their lives and the lives of everyone around them, even people they love, unless they can get through an alcohol rehab program that helps them recover their senses.
Kids whose parents talk to them about drugs and alcohol are less likely to become alcoholics. Talk to them now, and you could avoid having to get them into an alcohol rehab program later.
About the Author
Rod is a freelance writer that contributes articles on health.
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