Your child may be curious about everything that appears to be only for adults, including alcohol, and want to know more. They might see someone drinking on TV, watch you drinking at home or at parties, and spot adverts showing alcohol. Their friends and conversations on the playground may also influence them.
As a parent, you will have your own opinions about drinking alcohol. You may not drink because of religious beliefs and want your child to abstain, too. Or perhaps you choose not to drink and want to encourage your child to do the same. Other families will see moderate drinking as perfectly acceptable behaviour. Every family is different.
Regardless of your personal drinking habits, talking about alcohol with your child is a positive decision. You want your child to know that drinking isn’t safe for children, as their bodies and brains are still developing. Supplying your children with the correct information when they are young will ultimately influence their decisions about alcohol as they grow up and help them have a healthy lifestyle.
There isn’t a right time to have the conversation about alcohol with children as everyone is different. You know your child best. However, it may surprise you to know that the average age of children having their first whole alcoholic drink in the UK is between the ages of 13 and 14. It would be wise to start these conversations before they get to this age. You can then continue them as they grow older.
If you wait to have these types of conversations until their teenage years, then you may have missed the opportunity to educate them. They may have already formed their own ideas about drinking.
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