I’m Going to Teach my Adolescent to Drink Responsibly, ‘Like They Do in Europe’

And Other Well-Intentioned Parenting Myths about Adolescent Alcohol Use
Danielle Dick, PhD
Danielle Dick, PhD

by Danielle Dick PhD, Professor in Developmental Psychology and Human & Molecular Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University

As a researcher who studies adolescent alcohol use and problems, I frequently talk to parent groups, and I always, inevitably get asked a question along the following lines:

“Isn’t part of the problem that in the United States we make alcohol off-limits to adolescents, and by doing so, make it more attractive to our kids? Wouldn’t we be better off lowering the legal drinking age and allowing our kids to drink

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