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09/30/2007: "Traditional attitudes toward alcohol don't cause binging"
In fact, starting in middle school, her parents allowed her and her siblings to have an occasional sip of beer or wine. By the time she was in high school, Peele was drinking beer and wine regularly at family functions and social events. But it was always in moderation, Peele says. She says her parents' attitude toward alcohol made it seem less mysterious. "It wasn't some forbidden fruit," Peele says. "I didn't have to go out to a field with my friends and have 18 beers."
Her father, Stanton Peele, says many of the programs set up to stop alcohol abuse contribute to the teen binge-drinking crisis. Any program that tells kids flatly not to drink creates temptation, he says. "Preparing your child to drink at home lessens the likelihood that they are going to binge drink," he says. "Not sharing alcohol with your child is a risk factor for binge drinking."
[ European countries have had this attitude for centuries. Trying to let the Nanny State teach your children abstinence is like letting the Nanny State do anything else. It's an excuse for it to control you. ]
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/09/27/kid.drinking/index.html