Study: Not rare for fourth-graders to try alcohol

[Jeana (DP)]

I was drinking regularly at that age - 10-11, and I was in 6th/7th grade. Of course, I'm an alcoholic so that might not be typical for all, but I think it is typical for those of us who might go on to become problem drinkers. My husband - also an addict - started drinking and using drugs at age 10 and I've heard many AA/NA stories over the years that start with people taking their first taste of alcohol at around the 10/11 mark.

I found this just now and found it very interesting:

Age of Initiating Drinking. Results of a large nationwide survey show that more than 40 percent of persons who initiated drinking before age 15 were diagnosed as alcohol dependent at some point in their lives (37). Rates of lifetime dependence declined to approximately 10 percent among those who began drinking at age 20 or older. The annual rate of this decline was similar for both genders (37). Although in the past women generally started drinking at later ages than men, more recent survey data show that this difference has nearly disappeared (2).

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa46.htm

 

[southcitymom]

I found this just now and found it very interesting:

Age of Initiating Drinking. Results of a large nationwide survey show that more than 40 percent of persons who initiated drinking before age 15 were diagnosed as alcohol dependent at some point in their lives (37). Rates of lifetime dependence declined to approximately 10 percent among those who began drinking at age 20 or older. The annual rate of this decline was similar for both genders (37). Although in the past women generally started drinking at later ages than men, more recent survey data show that this difference has nearly disappeared (2).

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa46.htm

Fascinating - I have stumbled upon similar statistics before. Based on what I've experienced, seen and heard, I am not surprised by the information at that link at all!

It makes a lot of sense. If you start using mood/mind-altering substances at a young age in order to cope, it stands to reason that you are going to continue using them to cope as you get older, life gets more stressful and you haven't developed other healthier coping mechanisms. That fact plus the natural development of tolerance can lead to trouble!

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Fascinating - I have stumbled upon similar statistics before. Based on what I've experienced, seen and heard, I am not surprised by the information at that link at all!

It makes a lot of sense. If you start using mood/mind-altering substances at a young age in order to cope, it stands to reason that you are going to continue using them to cope as you get older, life gets more stressful and you haven't developed other healthier coping mechanisms. That fact plus the natural development of tolerance can lead to trouble!

Exactly! Plus if you've got the genetics for abusive behavior, a double WHAMMY!! I think my parents drank WAY too much when I was growing up (who didn't in the 60s). I don't really drink more than a few times a year these days, but drank a fair amount in my 20s.

 

[southcitymom]

Exactly! Plus if you've got the genetics for abusive behavior, a double WHAMMY!! I think my parents drank WAY too much when I was growing up (who didn't in the 60s). I don't really drink more than a few times a year these days, but drank a fair amount in my 20s.

There are plenty of people who drink a good bit in early adulthood who outgrow it and just don't go on to develop a problem. And then there are people like me!

When I look at my 7-year-old and think, my God, when I was 3 years older than him I was stealing booze from my Dad's liquor cabinet and pills out of people's medicine cabinets, it sends shivers up my spine.

I can only hope to model something different for my own kids. I would like them to stay away from the inevitable temptations of alcohol all long as possible and to be honest with them about the genetic factors they're up against as well as what it's like to live in the hell of addiction.

But of course there will come a day when what they choose to do is way out of my hands. Thankfully, that day is not today!

 

[Jeana (DP)]

There are plenty of people who drink a good bit in early adulthood who outgrow it and just don't go on to develop a problem. And then there are people like me!

When I look at my 7-year-old and think, my God, when I was 3 years older than him I was stealing booze from my Dad's liquor cabinet and pills out of people's medicine cabinets, it sends shivers up my spine.

I can only hope to model something different for my own kids. I would like them to stay away from the inevitable temptations of alcohol all long as possible and to be honest with them about the genetic factors they're up against as well as what it's like to live in the hell of addiction.

But of course there will come a day when what they choose to do is way out of my hands. Thankfully, that day is not today!

Well, it sounds as though you've got a handle on it and are very much aware of the problem you had and that's HUGE!!! Congratulations on that!! I remember having "sips" out of my parents drinks from a very early age and, in fact, in high school I added some vodka a couple of times to the orange juice my grandmother poured me.:blushing: :blushing: I hated school!!! LOL After I moved out of the house, my father bought a tavern so he pretty much drank every day. I don't think it ever really got out of control, even though it did him no good physically. He also smoked cigarettes, so that really did a number on him as well.

I with you about the worrying I do about my two youngest kids. Like you said, all you can do is educate them and hope the message sinks in. I think its enivitable that some experimentation is bound to happen at some point in their lives. Hopefully, they'll discover that life is so much better when you're sober!!

 

[southcitymom]

Well, it sounds as though you've got a handle on it and are very much aware of the problem you had and that's HUGE!!! Congratulations on that!! I remember having "sips" out of my parents drinks from a very early age and, in fact, in high school I added some vodka a couple of times to the orange juice my grandmother poured me.:blushing: :blushing: I hated school!!! LOL After I moved out of the house, my father bought a tavern so he pretty much drank every day. I don't think it ever really got out of control, even though it did him no good physically. He also smoked cigarettes, so that really did a number on him as well.

I with you about the worrying I do about my two youngest kids. Like you said, all you can do is educate them and hope the message sinks in. I think its enivitable that some experimentation is bound to happen at some point in their lives. Hopefully, they'll discover that life is so much better when you're sober!!

I've met plenty of folks like your Dad who are habituated to alcohol and, while that's not great for their health obviously, it never becomes the type of problem it becomes for us alcoholics. There's a line with all that that becomes fairly obvious when crossed!

Kids do take sips, sneak beers and experiment - that's normal, I know it is. Still, it's scary - at least for me with my history. But you are right - half the battle is won in that I'm sober today and raising my kids in a different atmosphere than I was raised in. The rest -as they say - is in the hands of the gods!

Very funny about you making yourself a screwdriver before school!

 

[Jeana (DP)]

I've met plenty of folks like your Dad who are habituated to alcohol and, while that's not great for their health obviously, it never becomes the type of problem it becomes for us alcoholics. There's a line with all that that becomes fairly obvious when crossed!

Kids do take sips, sneak beers and experiment - that's normal, I know it is. Still, it's scary - at least for me with my history. But you are right - half the battle is won in that I'm sober today and raising my kids in a different atmosphere than I was raised in. The rest -as they say - is in the hands of the gods!

Very funny about you making yourself a screwdriver before school!

My grandma had two martinis every day at 4:00. She had vodka delivered every month and kept it in the attic, where my room happend to be. One day it just seemed like a good idea, so I gave it a go. I only did it every so often, thank God! LOL I've got to admit once or twice, my dad and I did come home drunker than heck, arm-in-arm, singing at the top of our lungs! Good times!!!!!

 

[philamena]

You just haven't seen it. I was 8 or so when I got to start having sips of beer. It was icky, but it was grown up & I wanted more. I thought Shirley Temples were a drink out with the family. It was 7th grade when drinking became about getting wasted, not sipping what was being allowed at 8.

My now 22 year old little brother (20 yrs younger than me), told me of how at 8 he would take a warm beer & put it at the back of the fridge so that he could take a cold one from the front.

I'm 12 1/2 yrs sober now. I have already started having the conversations with my 3. Not the "don't you dare try it" stuff, but the experience I've had -- at a level that little guys can understand. I am full well braced for what alcoholism & its effects on my family may have in store...

Also, at 18, drinking beer was legal. Liquor was 21. When I was 19, that changed to 21 for everything. I absolutely believed my rights had been taken away & used all the arguments that SS mentioned up above. Ended up getting a fake ID & just going at it anyway..... no descriptions needed. Just let your imaginations take it away.....

mostlylurking,
Thank you so much for your honest and informative reply! :blowkiss:
Sounds like you're doing A OK with your children.
When I was a teenager, the legal drinking age here was also 18 and believe me, I did some stupid things as a teen. Luckily I wasn't addicted to alcohol but my husband was. He started drinking when he was 14 but the drink didn't grab him until he was in his early 30's. Luckily he quite drinking when he turned 42 and he's been sober 10 years. We have 2 daughters---one is in her 20's and one will be 17 in 2 weeks. I constantly worry about my youngest experimenting with alcohol. I know peer pressure is real.

 

[philamena]

I was drinking regularly at that age - 10-11, and I was in 6th/7th grade. Of course, I'm an alcoholic so that might not be typical for all, but I think it is typical for those of us who might go on to become problem drinkers. My husband - also an addict - started drinking and using drugs at age 10 and I've heard many AA/NA stories over the years that start with people taking their first taste of alcohol at around the 10/11 mark.

southcitymom,
Thanks to you also, for answering with such honesty.:blowkiss: I obviously was blind to kids drinking at such an early age. :blushing:
Best of luck to you and your husband.

 

[OneLostGrl]

There are plenty of people who drink a good bit in early adulthood who outgrow it and just don't go on to develop a problem. And then there are people like me!

When I look at my 7-year-old and think, my God, when I was 3 years older than him I was stealing booze from my Dad's liquor cabinet and pills out of people's medicine cabinets, it sends shivers up my spine.

I can only hope to model something different for my own kids. I would like them to stay away from the inevitable temptations of alcohol all long as possible and to be honest with them about the genetic factors they're up against as well as what it's like to live in the hell of addiction.

But of course there will come a day when what they choose to do is way out of my hands. Thankfully, that day is not today!

God do I know what you mean!! My son is 13. By the time I was his age I was already addicted to prescription drugs, to cigarettes, I had already smoked pot, gotten to "third base".. several times, gotten suspended from school.. several times, gotten in first fights, sneaked out of the house, you get my drift, I'm sure.

When he gets to talking back to me or being a typical snotty, selfish teenager I try to remind myself what a GOOD kid he actually is! LOL

 

[Only4Justice]

Since I have a 4th grader, I felt compelled to post a reply here....

I keep beer and sometimes wine in the refrigerator - I drink, my husband does not. I have to admit, it has occurred to me to "count" the beers to make sure neither child is doing something they shouldn't. However, I do trust my kids, and unfortunately, my sister is a full-fledged alcoholic and they have been exposed to the hurt she has caused to me, her daughter, my mother, and everyone else in her life. I really think they view alcohol as evil.

One thing I heard at a seminar on 'raising boys' was to talk to your child before they may be offered a drink from a friend, make sure they have a "plan" in place of what they will say. It was said that boys in particular can not think as fast as girls on the fly and need to have a plan in place for the first time they are offered booze, cigarettes, etc. I think this is a great idea and have discussed it with both my sons, even my 4th grader.

My sister has alot of problems, mostly caused by her alcoholism. She is not even raising her only child, a daughter age 13. The alcohol has taken all that is left of her. She has been to rehab once, it didn't work, and she refuses to go back. Even getting her daughter back is not enough incentive!

We were raised in a home with no alcohol whatsoever. I wouldn't doubt if my sister tried her first drink at a very young age, possibly at a friend's house. I do know my mother told me recently that when she was 10, she took a bottle of pills and had her stomach pumped. I'm not sure where I was at the time - I never knew about this.

I agree that America glamorizes and stigmatizes drinking, sex, etc., which only makes kids want to try those things more. Maybe if we relaxed a little bit, and not make such a big deal out of it like the Europeon countries, it would help.

I think those among us who become alcoholics are genetically inclined to do so. That's why some of us can drink and stop without getting drunk, and others cannot stop once they start.

My sons saw me drunk once - it was the most embarrassing night of my life. It was earlier this summer, I was visiting my sister (surprise!), and boy were they drinking (much more than I usually do). I joined in, and my 11-year old son grabbed my keys and said "Mom, you are not driving". I called my mother and she picked me up and her BF drove my truck home. I thought it quite responsible of my 11-yo. My 4th grader was scared to death. :doh:

In hindsight, maybe my mistake taught them a valuable lesson.

The disease of alcoholism hurts everyone......

 

[C.Whalen]

Fourth-graders drinking.....my gosh that is young. When I was growing up my father had a fully stocked bar downstairs and my siblings and I could have tasted any kind of booze we wanted, anytime, and it would never have been noticed. I know I didn't try any and if my siblings did it's news to me. None of us grew up to be drinkers, well I guess they might have social drinks but I mean hard core drinkers. I just never acquired the taste.....and I was a bartender at Junior Ranks Club, Woseley Barracks for 10 years. Now let me tell you those boys know how to drink....sad....I could predict every night who would pass out and which chair they would be in it was such a regular practice for them.

 

[Autumn2004]

The first time I tried alcohol more than just a sip was at 14 and of course was drunk because I didnt know how much was too much. My uncle gave me sips of his beer in the mid 70's when I was 5 that did not go over well with my mom at all obviously! I didn't grow up with parents who drank or had alcohol in the house but when I went away to school at 14 I found out all about drinking

Keep your kids away from prep boarding schools Seriously so many things happen there that parents never find out about. I was a very good kid till I went away to school.

 

[Taximom]

I brought this study up earlier this week with my 10 and 11 yr old children. We had a nice discussion about it.

Tonight my daughter (J) comes back from her friends home (A) and tells me that (B) was also over playing. B told them that she drinks beer. B is in 6th grade. She says her uncle brings it over and she likes it.

WOW. So my mind is reeling because I barely know B's parents, but know them well enough that they might even think this is cute. They might not know at all though too.

My WS mind wants to know what else the uncle is doing and is he home alone with B? Does he give her beer to loosen her up?

Is B lying? Maybe she is and just thinks this makes her look cool to A and J.

I told my daughter that she might want to tell A to tell Mrs A, because A visits B ( lol sounds like a math problem ) once in a while and I don't want anything to happen to A while she's at B's. I'm not really sure what else I should do...

The best part was when my daughter started quoting this study (I had forgotten) as she told me about B. lol