DON'T TOAST YOUR TEEN (article from Good Housekeeping)

I hope I don't get in trouble for re-typing an article I found in a magazine. It's from Good Housekeeping - January 2009.

Don't Toast Your Teen

True or False: Since your child starts college in the fall, you should let him have a beer or two now - so he doesn't go crazy once he's away from home.

FALSE, say researchers at the University of Maryland, College Park. Studying more than 1,000 kids ages 17-19, they found that those who didn't drink in high school consumed a mean of only 1.8 alcoholic beverages each time they drank as freshmen in college, while their peers with more drinking experience socked back five.

"The notion that if parents don't allow their teen to drink, he's a bomb ready to go off once he leaves for school is just misguided," says lead author Amelia Arria, Ph.D. "Alcohol can damage the part of teens' brains that animal studies suggest is associated with memory and learning." Plus, kids who drink before age 15 are seven times more likely to develop alcohol problems than people who start at 21. So share these sobering facts and set a zero-tolerance policy: no alcohol - not even a New Year's Eve toast - till he's really of age. -L.H.


I know of people who have allowed their teen (and even significantly younger) to have a "sip" here and there. Parker once accidentally mistook Scott's beer for a can of soda and took a big swig...much to Parker's surprise! Scott and I were thankful that Parker's reaction was, "Blaaach! It tastes horrible!" Good boy, Parker. Now...let's remember that in the future!