28 August 2011

What's the answer to teenage binge drinking? According to 'independent' think tank Demos it's don't get drunk in front of the kids. More gems from a study, widely reported in today's papers, include: more parental discipline, encouraging children to develop "sensible and responsible" expectations of consumption, and prevent teenagers from having access to booze in the home.

The headlines delivered the message loud and clear: Parenting style strongly affects drinking (BBC); Tough love stops binge drinking (Guardian); Parents to blame for drunk kids (Independent). Got that? It's the parents' fault.

Another interesting study to get media attention last week points the finger of blame elsewhere: Alcohol companies accused of exploiting Facebook, Twitter and YouTube by 'targeting young people with drink campaigns', is the headline that ran in the Daily Mail, reporting a study that showed that drinks companies’ web pages were set up "to ‘appeal to minors’ with games, competitions and videos of drink-fuelled parties."

Just to be clear, that's booze companies encouraging children to get bevied, and then turning round and blaming the parents when they do (the Demos study was funded by SABMiller, the world's largest brewing company).