chief 'stating the obvious' officer says....

emamum · 29-01-2009, 14:07

children shouldnt drink alcohol.....ya reckon??

Children under 15 should not drink any alcohol, says government's chief medical officer | Society | guardian.co.uk

Quote:

An estimated 630,000 children aged 11 to 17 in the UK drink more than once a week, and around one in five 15-year-olds say they first got drunk when they were 13 or younger, according to government figures

jaysay · 29-01-2009, 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by emamum

children shouldnt drink alcohol.....ya reckon??

Children under 15 should not drink any alcohol, says government's chief medical officer | Society | guardian.co.uk

Don't let it bother you ema, just ignore him he'll eventually go away and find a dark corned to crawl into

shillelagh · 29-01-2009, 18:03

Well i was drinking babycham when i was about 7, then graduated to drinking lager from age about 11 and drinking in a pub from about the age of 12 .... ok i was with my parents and they bought it me .... and it hasnt done me any harm has it?

polly · 29-01-2009, 18:32

What a load of nonsense, presumably aimed at a small number of irresponsible parents
Well the majority of parents are responsible enough to see know when and how to introduce their children to alcohol in moderation.

We offered the boys, watered down wine and a taste of beer when they were in their early teens and no harm came to them, infact I would say they learnt that drink wasnt such a big thing and how to use it responsibly.

Caz · 29-01-2009, 20:11

Totally agree Polly.

He's speaking totally against what the government guidlines say, which is what most responsible parents already do, introducing a small amount at family celebrations, Xmas etc. Gets them used to a resonsible way of using alcohol.

They don't seem to have this binge drinking culture on the continent, where a small amount of wine with a meal has always been common.

A sledgehammer to crack a nut as usual, instead of homing in on the problem causers and their families, they want to legislate for everyone.

How the heck they would expect to enforce anything like that is beyond me.

Margaret Pilkington · 29-01-2009, 20:24

I agree that it is up to parents to decide when, and if, to introduce their children to alcohol.
My grandad used to give me a taste of the froth off his beer when I was very young......it hasn't turned me into a drinker.
And how this governemnt can feign concern when it was they who liberalised the laws on Drinking.
Parents in France allow their children to have watered wine with meals, it doesn't appear to cause problems with their development, or for that matter make them irresponsible in their drinking habits in later life.
I am fed up with the nanny state interfering and implying that all parents are lacking in common sense.

Gayle · 29-01-2009, 20:31

Sorry Margaret but the French aren't that good an example in this argument.

Taken from a study I found online.

The French drink one-and-a-half times more per capita than Americans and their death rate from liver cirrhosis is more than one-and-a-half times greater than that in the United States. According to WHO, France has the sixth highest adult per capita alcohol consumption in the world. (The U.S. ranks 32nd.) Alcohol may be involved in nearly half of the deaths from road accidents, half of all homicides, and one-quarter of suicides, according to the French equivalent of the U.S. Institutes of Health. And while coro*nary heart disease may be less pervasive in that country of 60 million people than in many others, it is still the number one cause of death.

However, despite that I think a tiny bit of alcohol (watered down wine or beer) is ok and I would have no concerns about letting my two have a sip here and there although as yet neither of them has bothered with it.

Margaret Pilkington · 29-01-2009, 20:41

Well, Gayle I wasn't relying on statistics......just my own personal observations.
It doesn't seem that the French go out to get 'bladdered'....they seem(well, to the outsider) to have a responsible attitude to alcohol......I certainly haven't seen them lying in the gutter throwing up....though it IS quite a while since I last visited France.

Bang goes another one of my illusions.

Caz · 29-01-2009, 22:48

There was a guy on one of the news programmes, don't remember which, was offering kids who were caught up in binge drinking the option to do something else. Seem to recall they were on the tall ships at Liverpool.

What happens when this carrot is taken away, and they have to take life as most of us do?

Why is it that families who do the least to help themselves and their kids usually end up as recipients of such things? If you struggle against the odds to bring your kids up to be decent human beings, you have no assistance what so ever.

I've struggled with mine, made sure they had role models in the form of youth groups etc, paid for them to do things like this, and hopefully they are on the right road. They never frequented pubs on a regular basis, usually only when they had a gig booked. But the one's who's families couldn't care less are given it on a plate.

Young offenders being given holidays. etc etc. where are the figures pertaining to whether this action worked, would love to see them.

Getting to the core of the problem is what is needed, but it just doesn't seem to be happening.