Should we teach our children to drink?

David Cameron thinks so, championing the idea that children should try alcohol at home. Is it really that simple, asks Alice Wyllie
When it comes to alcohol, there's one thing with which it can be very dangerous to mix: teenagers. It's up there with drugs, cigarettes and "the wrong crowd" on the list of things that keep parents awake at night, often with good reason. A recent study by the University of Edinburgh in partnership with the World Health Organisation found that 13-year-olds in the UK are getting drunk more frequently than any of their peers in the Western world.

A sobering statistic, but sadly one that's not particularly surprising. We're constantly bombarded with statistics about how much alcohol British teenagers drink, their attitudes to drinking and even the resulting health problems that arise from binge drinking as a teenager. However, it's not often that we hear a solution offered.

Yesterday, the Tory leader David Cameron threw his suggestion into the ring while speaking to a group of young Radio 1 Newsbeat listeners. He suggested that children should be introduced to the idea "that drinking is something you can do socially, and something you can do with a meal, and something that is part of life".

He added: "Some of the friends I had, the ones who had the biggest problems, were the ones who actually were never allowed to drink anything at home – whereas the ones who drink responsibly were the ones who were given a glass of wine or a small glass of beer or a shandy or something. That's the right way to do it in the home."

It's not the first time that it's been suggested that parents in Britain try to follow the Italian or French model, where children are allowed to drink with a meal and are less likely to binge drink or drink in the streets. Last year, new research was published that suggested teenagers who drink alcohol with their parents, in moderation, are less likely to binge drink. The study, by Liverpool John Moores University, of more than 10,000 15 and 16-year-olds found that almost 90 per cent admitted to drinking alcohol, of whom 38 per cent binged. Those who were introduced to alcohol at home were less likely to fall into the second category.

It also found that teenagers who bought their own alcohol were six times more likely to drink in public, and twice as likely to binge than those who had alcohol bought for them. However, the report contrasted with a call last year by the charity Alcohol Concern to prosecute parents who give alcohol to under-15s, and not all parents agree with Cameron's views.

"I don't believe that introducing your children to alcohol is an approach that works at all," says Frances Byatt-Smith of The Parent Centre in Edinburgh. "It's not necessarily harmful, but it's simply not going to outweigh peer pressure. Children copy what their parents do, so drinking in front of them isn't a good idea, full stop. Even if you're sharing a bottle of wine over a meal, it's likely that they'll notice it making you more relaxed and chatty. It's not a great message to send."

Linda Russell of the Parent Coaching Studio in Edinburgh largely agrees. "By introducing children to alcohol as part of a family meal, you demystify it and it's not portrayed as something rebellious," she says. "However, the problem with this approach for me is that more and more families aren't sitting down to eat together, so children's experiences of their parents and alcohol tend to relate more to watching them drink at parties or social gatherings. This can send out a dangerous message, because children can then see alcohol as more of a social lubricant."

Anne Coates of parentingwithouttears.com approves of David Cameron's views: "It's the approach I took with my own daughter. She was offered wine with her meal as a teenager and it wasn't until she was 18 that she began drinking with friends. Offering it to her took away curiosity; it was no longer exotic or rebellious, because it was something her mother allowed. Sometimes she'd turn it down – it wasn't a situation where there was any peer pressure, so she felt free to say 'no'. As an adult, she now views alcohol as something to be enjoyed with a meal."

But concerned parents want something to be done about out-of-control teenage drinkers. Research last year found that the number of under-18s in alcohol treatment programmes had soared by 40 per cent, from 4,781 in 2006 to 6,707 in 2007, with the highest increase among 12 to 14-year-olds.

The continental approach is not infallible, though: evidence suggests it is beginning to crumble, with an increasing number of teenagers reported to be binge drinking in countries such as France and Italy, where their alcohol intake has traditionally been more reserved.

According to Italian health ministry figures published last year, 17 per cent of the population are binge drinking at least once a month and one in five teenagers admits to being drunk regularly. Experts have blamed the problem on the breakdown of the traditional family unit.

One wonders, then, if the first step to solving the problem is not allowing children to enjoy a glass of wine at a family meal, but simply to get them to sit down for a family meal full stop?

The Scotsman newspaper