Two new studies funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) exploring issues around family life and alcohol have been produced.
A piece in the JRF blog says 'the findings tell us that home is the place where children learn about alcohol. And, even at an early age, young children have a pretty sophisticated understanding of alcohol and its effects which mostly comes from observing their parents or other adult relatives.'
Gaps in what children learnt from home were identified, such as the health risks of drinking and the potential risks of drinking outside of the home. The research found that childhood experiences are crucial to forming future drinking habits. The home is an important source of learning about alcohol - young children anticipate modelling their future behaviour on parent's drinking styles.
Last year the Chief Medical Officer released guidance on the consumption of alcohol by children and young people. This was followed by a campaign earlier this year called why let the drink decide?, encouraging parents to talk to children about alcohol. However it was reportedly pulled by the Coalition but a Young People and Alcohol page is still available. Alcohol Concern recently released a report on alcohol strategies relating to children and young people calling for more interventions and support for young people around alcohol.
See here on the Alcohol Learning Centre for a full list of alcohol-related documents and resources on children and young people.
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