According to Karin van der Velden - Aleman, policy staff-member at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport,"young people still drink too young, too often and too much. It is the government’s responsibility to educate parents about this. Years ago, when the government started its campaign about the dangers of smoking, it took a long time before everyone took this on board. Apparently, this kind of change happens slowly. Therefore, there is reason to optimistic about the ultimate outcome of the current anti-alcohol campaign." |
Alcohol use remains high among 15 16 year oldsThe sharply rising trend of alcohol use among young school-goers in the Netherlands has resulted in a prevention policy in recent years that actively involves parents. The most recent Dutch National School Survey of 2008 shows that adolescents are now slightly older when they start to drink. However, once they start, they are drinking as much as ever. |
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During the 1990s there was a lot of attention for rising cannabis and drug use among youngsters. Consequently, the issue of alcohol use in this group was pushed into the background. This changed, however after the previous National School Survey in 2003. Its findings disclosed an alarming rise in alcohol use among adolescents, prompting the government to launch its national programme on Alcohol and Parenting. The central message of this campaign to parents and professional educators is: set clear boundaries and prevent alcohol use before the age of 16. read more >> |
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The most recent survey conducted among school-goers found that alcohol use has declined in the 12 to 14 year age group. However, the rate of use remains unchanged among youngsters aged between 15 and 18. Likewise in this age category binge drinking (defined as five or more units per occasion) remains unmitigated. Over two-thirds of secondary school-goers who drink had engaged in binge drinking at least once during the past month. In the survey conducted among parents, a quarter indicated having agreed with their child that alcohol would not be used before a certain age. However, it emerged that parents underestimate how much their children drink; on average, they drink three times as much as their parents think they do. Four out of ten parents believe 14-15 is an acceptable age for the first sip of alcohol; a quarter think that 13 or younger is acceptable. As the youngsters get older, parental tolerance towards alcohol use increases. Parents remain most tolerant about having their child take one drink in their presence. Only half the parents would forbid this. Altogether, it appears that parents have become stricter in recent years about alcohol use among children under 16 years of age. This appears to reflect a change in mentality.
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'Keep alcohol prevention linked to parenting!'"Karin Monshouwer, project manager of the National School Survey, asserts that much remains to be done in the area of prevention and raising parental awareness. The research shows that 90% of fifteen-year olds have already taken alcohol, while it is known that alcohol is very damaging to brain development.'
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