Is Buying Alcohol for Your Teenage Children Bad Parenting?

If you are parents of children who have entered the tumult of adolescence, you know it is an exciting time and one of incredible challenges. As your teenage son and daughter tries to navigate the difficult waters of young adulthood, it is important to give them support, encouragement and provide them with an environment in which rules, consequences are clearly understood.

Despite all that parents do to help guide their teenagers through this period of life, there are many times that the right and loving thing to do isn't the easiest thing to do.

Teen Alcohol Use: What is a Parent To Do?

For many parents, the subject of drug and alcohol use can be extremely difficult to navigate with their children. The physical and psychological impacts of substances on the developing brains and bodies of teens are well documented. As a parent, images of their son or daughter experimenting with drugs and alcohol in some strange place or dark alley can be frightening.

As a reaction to those thoughts, you may be tempted to buying alcohol for your teenage children or their friends and allow them to drink under adult supervision. While parents may think that buying alcohol for their teenage children will keep their kids safe and will lead to healthier attitudes about drinking, the truth is there are serious negative consequences for both parents and teens.

The Harm in Parents Providing Alcohol to Teenagers

If you are a parent who is buying alcohol for your teenage children, there are several areas in which this practice does great harm. First of all, providing alcohol to teenagers--even your own kids--is against the law. In many states, there are statutes which clearly define a parent's responsibility in regards to minors who consume alcohol.

For example, State Statute 125 in Wisconsin states the following:

"No adult may knowingly permit or fail to take action to prevent illegal consumption of alcoholic beverages by an underage person on premises owned by the adult or under the adult’s control."

If you are buying alcohol for your teenage children, you may also feel that being too strict about teen drinking will lead to problems with alcohol abuse and alcoholism down the road. In fact, research sponsored by the MetLife Foundation showed that  teens who perceive their parents to be more permissive about alcohol use are more likely to abuse alcohol and other drugs later in life.

Another viewpoint that parents may cite is the fact that young people in European cultures are often allowed to drink alcohol earlier and learn about "responsible drinking". This is also a myth.

Several studies have indicated that European adolescents who drink at an earlier age reported having been intoxicated before the age of 13 than is the case in the United States.

Additionally, The World Health Organization cites several studies that showed that young people who started drinking earlier are more likely to experience alcohol-related injury, disease and alcohol dependence later in life.

Parents Who Host: Bad Parenting or Lack of Information?

While there are always exceptions to the rule, the majority of parents who provide alcohol to children often do so in an attempt to be involved and aware in their child's life and to try and minimize or eliminate the consequences of alcohol and drug abuse.

While this can be seen as an example of poor parenting, it often stems from parents not truly understanding the effects of teen alcohol and drug use and based their decisions on half-truths and myths they have heard repeated over and over.

If you are a parent who is buying alcohol for your teenage children, or are looking for ways to approach the topic of substance abuse with your son or daughter, it is best to have real, down-to-earth conversations based on proven facts and that drug and alcohol use has consequences for the entire family.

If you are seeking information, support or guidance in talking to your kids about the dangers of alcohol and drug use, Sober Nation is your go-to resource. From informative articles and blogs, treatment options and other addiction-related resources, we can provide you with the information you need to have meaningful conversations with your children.