In this article, I am going to write about the ways in which parents can start to educate their children about alcohol from an early age. As we are all aware alcohol can create many problems and is the cause of many modern day tragedies such as car accidents and street fights which lead to fatalities. I therefore think it is important as parents to make our children aware of the dangers of drinking alcohol as our schools are more interested in spending time talking about sexual education and drugs. It has to be said however that these are also two very important issues which should also be discussed in the home.

When watching for example the soaps on the television, our children are seeing some of their childhood heroes drinking alcohol and seemingly enjoying it. Just recently our superb English cricket team went on a seventy-two hour drinking session after winning the ashes cricket tour against Australia. The media revelled in showing the players meeting Tony Blair rather worse for wear. This only goes to glamouratize alcohol making it look cool in the eyes of our children.

Our children may at times witness a parent or parents who is/are drunk. They are bound to have questions and think about alcohol at times in their life, much as in the same way that I am sure we all did as children. They are likely to have certain questions in their mind such as what does it feel like to be drunk? How does it feel in the morning when you are hungover? Is drinking alcohol a good or a bad thing? What are the reasons people choose to drink alcohol in the first place rather than say coke?

I had similar questions when I was a child but did not feel that I was able to talk to anyone about them. I want my own children to feel confident to ask their parents about any subject and would like them to ask questions rather than guess at what the answers might be.

When discussing alcohol with your child, perhaps when you are watching a television program where people are drinking as a way of bringing up the subject, it is important to give them accurate information. For example it is important to tell them about not only about the negative side of drinking but also about the positive side, the fact that it can be a pleasurable experience.

With my own children, I am trying to teach them that it is possible to socialise and to have a good time without the need to drink alcohol. I have now decided for my own personal reasons to stop drinking alcohol altogether and feel a lot better for it.