“Today Show” and WSJ discuss: Should parents teach responsible drinking?

Could there be benefits to allowing teens to drink in moderation at home? A recent segment on "The Today Show" asked this question of college students and others, mimicking a conversation common among parents.

Here at 21 Reasons, however, we see holes in "Today"'s conclusions, as well as a misrepresentation of current research: 

• The experts on “Today” cite many European countries where drinking at meals is common as models for teaching responsible drinking at home. However, a recent article in The Wall Street Journal cites a study examining binge drinking among teens which found France, Italy, Ireland, Denmark and the U.K. to have higher rates than here in the States.
• "Today"'s focus group of college students presented the "forbidden fruit" argument, which says that outlawing or disallowing a behavior will make it more attractive to boundary-pushing teens. However, research shows that kids are less likely to drink if they think their parents strongly disapprove or if they think they'll be caught.
• "Today" also ignores research which tells us that teen brains are still developing -- and, in fact, they'll doing so well into the mid-20s. Drinking alcohol damages young brains, which means there is no such thing as "safe" underage drinking.

Parents should take away from this conversation the knowledge that you matter -- you, more than anyone else, can affect the choices your teen will make. For great resources on how to prevent your teen from drinking, visit www.21reasons.org/parents.php.

Want to watch the clip described above? Just hit play: