How does drinking as a teenager damage your health when you are older?

Ellen Rehm

     Many parents do not know how to address the issue with alcohol with their high school aged kids. Some forbid their teenagers from touching alcohol until they are 18, while other take a more relaxed approach and let their underaged kids drink with parental supervision. Most parents assume their child will drink alcohol once in college therefore they might as well let them try alcohol in high school with parental supervision. Research proves that the earlier a child starts drinking, the higher their chances of developing alcohol abuse or dependence in their teenage years and adult life are. Children who drink before the age of 15 are most susceptible to alcohol misuse in their later years in life. "Although the number of 11-15 year olds who have ever drunk alcohol has been going down since 2003, almost half of them have had alcohol and those who have are drinking twice as much as they were in 1990," (Jarvis, 2013). A recent study done showed that 64% of parents agree it is inevitable that most children will drink alcohol before age 16. Yet the reality is that parents are normally always the first people kids turn to for advice on alcohol. 

     The immediate effects of alcohol on children may be no more then feeling sick of having a hangover, yet alcohol can have long term health effects on the child. Long term risks include liver damage, brain development, and drinking later in life. Lifelong alcoholics are not the only people who have liver damage, regular drinking too much can increase a young persons chances of damaging their liver. The areas of the brain developing through childhood and into the teenage years are responsible for behavior, emotions, reasoning, and judgement. Drinking during this time can have a long term impact on memory and attention span on the child. Lastly, if children binge drink they are more likely to binge drink as adults. 

Source: Jervis, Dr. Sarah. Alcohol and Your Child. Drink Aware. October 2013. Retrieved from https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/alcohol-and-your-child/children-and-alcohol-the-risks