Underage drinking warning

Health experts have warned of the dangers of under age drinking after a study found that one in six parents allow their children to drink alcohol at the age of 14.

Well-educated parents of white children were most likely to allow their children to drink at that age according to research by the UCL Institute of Education and Pennsylvania State University in the US.

Parents who abstained from alcohol tended not to allow their children to drink, but among those who did drink, those fathers and mothers who drank heavily were no more likely to let their children drink alcohol than light or moderate drinkers.

Current guidelines recommend that an alcohol-free childhood is best, with children not drinking any alcohol before the age of 15.

Parents of white children who were employed, had more educational qualifications, and who drank alcohol themselves, were more likely to allow their adolescent children to drink than unemployed parents, those with fewer educational qualifications, and ethnic minority parents.

Professor Jennifer Maggs, who led the study, said: “Parents of socially advantaged children may believe that allowing children to drink will teach them responsible use or may in fact inoculate them against dangerous drinking.

“However, there is little research to support these ideas.”