Alcohol & Young People

How your drinking can affect children

Children in Scotland, more than anywhere else in the UK, talk to ChildLine about their parents’ drinking, resulting family problems and about feeling worried and isolated.

More than 100 children a week are contacting ChildLine with worries about their parents' drinking or drug use, according to the NSPCC. It said in the year to March, 5,700 children had called to talk about the problems, which the charity described as a "ticking time bomb" in their lives.

Two-thirds of those callers had mentioned their parents' drinking.

The children calling about that issue were also more likely than other child callers to report abuse, it added.

It is estimated that at least 65,000 children in Scotland are affected by a parent with a drink problem. Children who have to cope with their parent's unpredictable behaviour, rows, neglect, domestic violence, can feel ashamed and often under-achieve at school.

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Talking to your child about drinking

When is the best time to talk to your child about alcohol? There’s no time like the present. After all, in school, children start to learn about the effects of alcohol by the time they’re in Primary 7. So it’s a great time to tackle the subject, rather than waiting until they’re experimenting with drinking. But it’s also never too late to start talking either. And whatever ideas about drinking we grew up with; the current scientific evidence is that an alcohol-free childhood is the healthiest and best option.

Did you know that a child’s brain is constantly changing and developing? In fact, some parts of the brain don’t mature till we’re in our early twenties - and the teenage years are a crucial time for developing the areas that handle planning and judgement. Drinking alcohol can stop young people reaching their full potential. That’s the biggest reason why an alcohol-free childhood is the healthiest and best choice.

Alcohol & young people - facts

Each year in Scotland there are on average around 350 alcohol-related hospital admissions amongst people under 15 years

• Alcohol could make your child more vulnerable to risky behaviour, such as unsafe sexual activity or becoming a victim of crime
• Young people’s bodies are more vulnerable than adults’ to the effects of alcohol
• Drinking can lead to and be a symptom of poor mental health, like depression
• The earlier a child starts drinking, the higher their chances of alcohol-related problems as adults

But the good news is that you can make a big difference to the way your child thinks about drinking.

The things you tell your children have more impact than you might realise - but as we all know, young people don’t like being lectured! That’s why a great idea is to start by chatting to them, finding out what they know, rather than telling them what you think.
Also, whenever the effects of alcohol are mentioned in TV programmes, this is a good opportunity to have a talk about it with your child.

• Pick a time when you’re not rushed
• Be honest! Discuss why some people enjoy drinking as well as pointing out the potential risks
• If you don’t know the answer to something, why not find out together? There are some useful ways to find out more on the back page
• Remember, the way you talk about alcohol will develop as your child gets older
• Hobbies and other activities can help divert your child from drinking, so it’s well worth encouraging interests they have.

Research has shown that children can learn from their parents drinking habits.  Moderate drinking in the family environment provides a potentially more balanced, alternative view of drinking behaviour, in contrast to the excessive consumption promoted commercially, and which specifically targets young adults.

Young people who drink

It is not easy being a young person in today’s society. Young people are under so much pressure to start drinking at a young age. Peer pressure, a lack of better alternatives and influences from film, television and social media make it near impossible for young people to wait until their 18 to drink their first drink. However did you know that more than 10,000 children end up in hospital every year due to drinking and research tells us that 15 per cent of young people think it is normal to get drunk at least once a week.

They are putting themselves at risk of harm to the liver, depression and damage to the developing brain. A young persons body is developing the most during the teenage year. The negative effects of drinking alcohol in your youth can result in lifelong illnesses and problems.  Resulting social issues can lead to children and young people doing less well at school and struggling to interact with friends and family.