Binge Drinking Talk Should Be Had With Children Before They Ever Take A Sip

When should you talk to your children about alcohol? Long before they ever take their first sip, according to a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics. 

New findings conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that most children think about alcohol as early as nine years old. Furthermore, pediatrician from Miami and main author of the study, Lorena Siqueirasaid, that as young people become exposed to alcohol advertisements and marketing, the more they start to become curious about it and start drinking.

A survey from the study revealed that almost 21 percent of young adults admitted to having a sip of alcohol before the age of 12. It also showed that most had happened before or during their 12th grade in school. As children are curious, they might be a bit more likely to test their limits during this period, researchers say. Furthermore, 79 percent of children have had at least one sip of alcohol by the time they reached 12th grade. Many also drank in excess as they are inexperienced with drinking

"Among youth who drink, the proportion who drink heavily is higher than among adult drinkers, rising from approximately 50 percent in those 12 to 14 years of age to 72 percent among those 18 to 20 years of age," the researchers said via Live Science. 

What's so dangerous about alcohol is both the short-term and long-term risks over time, the National Institute on Acohol Abuse and Acoholism states. The drug interferes with the brain's communication pathways, affecting the way the brain works. These disruptions can alter mood and behavior and can make it harder to think clearly as well as move in coordination.

A lot of drinking over time can also drastically affect certain parts of the body, increasing the risk of cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, stroke, and high blood pressure. And while drinking in moderation may protect healthy adults from developing coronary heart disease, drinking in excess can increase the risk of fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis as well as a host of other problems.

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