Although in the U.S. the age at which someone can legally consume alcohol is set at 21, it is quite clear that many adolescents start drinking much sooner. In light of these facts, then, parents often face a difficult decision: At what age is it appropriate to introduce their children to alcohol?
Though it s a question that will never have a definitive answer, a recent MSNBC article tackled the issue by investigating whether early exposure to alcohol does indeed result in more responsible drinking later in life, as has become something like conventional wisdom. MSNBC cites a recent study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, which surveyed 1,000 moms in three Southern states and found that 40 percent of them believed that forbidding alcohol would only increase their kids desire to have it. In fact, about one-third of the third-graders in the study had already been given a sip of beer, wine, or other alcohol.
However, some researchers suggest that such a strategy may backfire. Ralph Hingson, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism s Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research, advises, The safest thing for parents to do is to try and delay exposure to alcohol for as long as possible.
But the matter may not be so black and white. ACSH scientific advisor Dr. Dwight B. Heath, professor of anthropology at Brown University, argues that Hingson s warnings are an unfortunate byproduct of modern journalism, when some authorities use scientific research to support their own views even though alternative interpretations are equally justified. In fact, says Dr. Heath, the 40 percent of women in the study are quite correct in believing that some people can be taught to drink responsibly. Centuries of experience have demonstrated this, notably in southern Europe, where children are introduced to alcohol as part of a healthy diet. There, alcohol dependency has been rare, although their average per-capita consumption is many times higher than in other areas.
Dr. Heath sums up the matter by adding that it is unfortunate that many people in the U.S. treat alcohol as a magical substance, attributing strange power to it, and making it attractive as a forbidden fruit to curious young people. In such a cultural context, it is little wonder that some who start to drink early act like deviants and drink more than they should or in inappropriate ways.