Parenting Advice About Alcohol
© K. Kendall
A survey conducted in Australia found that most adults there believe that teenagers 15 to 17 should be allowed to consume alcohol under parental supervision at home, and the higher the parents' income, the more likely they are to allow drinking at home. This raises the question of whether this is a more enlightened approach to parenting teenagers.
The so-called "Continental" approach of introducing small amounts of alcohol at a younger age has long been standard in Europe. But that doesn't mean that all European parents practice this method with their teens. In Spain, for instance, parents are quite strict about their children drinking. It's rare to see a child of 15 or 16 having a glass of wine or beer in that country. There is also strong evidence that heavier drinking during the teenage years means that you're likely to be drinking heavier later in life and have more problems with alcohol as well.