Expert: Introducing teenagers to drink at home is bad idea

Parents who introduce their teenage children to drink in the home, in an effort to foster responsible use of alcohol, are not doing them any favours in the long run, an expert in the field says.

Dr Bobby Smyth, who is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, said his experience was that children who grow up in a permissive environment, where drink is permitted at home, tend to drift towards greater use of alcohol.

“By the time parents realise this, it is hard to put the genie back in the bottle,” Dr Smyth said.