Children of heavy drinkers 'more likely to get drunk'

Around one in five children from such households said they drank alcohol at least monthly and had been drunk, compared to around one in ten of those whose parents’ alcohol consumption was below the government’s recommended limit.

The research, conducted by Ipsos Mori, questioned 1,433 middle class parents and found 30 per cent drank above the recommended level of alcohol.

According to government advice, men should not regularly drink more than three to four units of alcohol a day, while women should not exceed more than two to three units.

The survey also found that parents who drink above the recommended limit of alcohol are more likely to think it is acceptable for children under the age of 16 to drink alcohol, and less likely to think their own drinking is the biggest influence on their children’s alcohol consumption.

The survey meanwhile canvassed the views of 652 children aged between 10 and 17. The majority of young people surveyed were found to have “a sensible attitude to drink”.

More than three quarters said seeing young people their age getting drunk is “not cool”. And 93 per cent said it was “not okay” for someone their age to get drunk once a week.

Drinkaware is now urging parents to talk to their children about the dangers of excessive drinking, and to realise how their drinking behaviour could influence their children.

Siobhan McCann, head of campaigns and communications at Drinkaware, said: “When it comes to alcohol, parents have the biggest influence on their children and lots of children would turn to their parents first for advice.

“Family gatherings during the festive season are a great opportunity to talk to your children about why people drink and the consequences of drinking to excess in an open and honest way.”

To coincide with the research, Drinkaware has published advice for parents encouraging them to talk to their children about alcohol. The advice is compiled by Drinkaware’s Mumtank, a group of expert mums, including Mumsnet co-founder Carrie Longton.

Longton said: “With Christmas just round the corner, it’s likely that children will be more aware of alcohol and might become curious about trying a drink. If you can it’s worth speaking to the parents of your child’s friendship group about the issue and if possible agreeing as a group how to tackle the party season, so young people are getting a consistent message from all sides.”