kids and alcohol a brain strain
2 Apr 2012

Kids and alcohol, a brain strain

2 mins to read
In Australia and New Zealand, 18 years old is the legal age for alcohol consumption. Yet many kids, with and without parental approval, start drinking much earlier. Tanya Ryan Seggar investigates.


Experts such as Professor Ian Hickie, Executive Director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney, says the potential health impact of such behaviour is of concern.

Professor Hickie says parents should make every effort to delay teenagers’ alcohol consumption whilst minimising exposure in those 18 years and over.

To mums and dads fond of a regular drink or who were introduced to alcohol early themselves, it may seem like a tall order but Professor Hickie counters that there is solid health reasons to toe the line.

From a neurological standpoint the teenage years are a particularly critical time. From the onset of puberty, the brain develops rapidly, particularly the frontal lobes which enable higher mental abilities such as recognising consequence/s of actions as well as choosing between good and bad actions.

But, if alcohol is regularly consumed before the legal age, it may have the potential to interfere with such brain development - disadvantaging children at a vulnerable life stage.

You can see the full clip of what Professor Hickie has to say on Drinkwise’s – a not for profit organisation dedicated to providing factual information about the affects of, along with, safe alcohol consumption, website here.

In summary:

“There is no good reason to drink alcohol early,” Professor Hickie says.

“From a brain point of view it runs the risk of interfering with normal development of those critical frontal lobes.”

It’s pretty compelling stuff as it is DrinkWise’s reasons for existing. The organisation’s objectives are varied but central to its mission is to get Australians to talk more openly about this country’s drinking culture and in the long-term, help change a generations’ view on excessive and under age alcohol consumption.

But the socially aware group also has lots of information for parents who need answers today about how to educate and manage children’s views on alcohol. Their five-step plan designed with teenagers in mind, for example, could be a good starting point:

  1. Talk to your teen
  2. Educate by example
  3. Engage in their life
  4. Nurture the relationship
  5. Set clear boundaries

Although it may sound a bit like parenting 101, it is also worth considering things like avoid drinking excessively with kids around - regardless of their age.

Drinking to get drunk is never a good idea for anyone’s health and wellbeing, but it’s important parents recognise that they, and other adults children spend time around, play a critical role when it comes to shaping a young person’s attitude to alcohol.

A parent’s relationship with the drug will often have an equivalent impact on their children i.e. a negative or abusive relationship with alcohol is likely to have a less than desirable impact on a child.

It’s also interesting for experienced drinkers to note that the Department of Health and Ageing’s site, dedicated to alcohol related health issues and government policy, claims there is no amount of alcohol that can be said to be safe for everyone as there is always some risk, however small, to health and social well-being.

Alcohol is a complex subject but one that parents, in particular, should put thought into well before children are of drinking age. Planning ahead should help manage any adverse affects, at least until a child reaches adulthood and is not only more physically able but also legally responsible for their own decisions.

 

Some sobering statistics

  • The average Australian child starts drinking alcohol at 15.5 years old
  • More than a quarter 14-19 year olds are putting themselves at risk of alcohol-related harm at least once a month
  • There is a strong positive correlation between the way parents drink and how their children grow up to drink
  • Children form attitudes towards alcohol a long time before they’ve had their first drink by observing how their parents and other adults around them drink

 References available upon request



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