Children think binge drinking is the norm

Children as young as nine think adults who binge drink are behaving normally, according to a new survey.

The study for the British children’s health charity, Life Education, questioned nearly 1500 children aged between nine and 11 about their perceptions of adult alcohol consumption.

A third of children believed that drinking five or more glasses of wine in one night and more than four pints of beer was normal for adults, The Press Association reported today.

Both are above levels the National Health Service (NHS) considers as binge drinking, with more than five glasses of wine or 3½ pints of beer a day considered bingeing for men, while for women, it is four glasses of wine a day.

Sixty per cent of the children surveyed said they believed people on television drunk too much, and about the same proportion say people drink alcohol to forget about their problems.

Nearly half of young children said they thought adults who drank were trying to be cool.

Life Education national director Stephen Burgesssaid the results needed to be taken seriously.

“We need to look at what role models we wish to provide and to make sure children understand that a healthy life does not involve excessive drinking,” he told PA.

In Australia, the issue of binge drinking is being hotly debated, with the Federal Government lifting a tax on so-called alcopops.

Police commissioners around the country have called for the abolition of some `happy hours’ and a review of liquor trading hours to address a “drink to get drunk” culture.

NSW Police Commission Andrew Scipione said the full financial burden of alcohol-related crime in Australia could be as much as $15 billion a year.