Ireland: More than 1,000 Kids Treated for Alcohol Issues
According to the Irish Daily Mail over 1,000 kids across Ireland were treated for alcohol and other drugs related issues in 2018. Out of 1,100 cases, 290 were children under the age of 10 years.
Professor Deirdre Murray, Consultant Paediatrician at Cork University Hospital, discusses child and teenage alcohol use on RTE Radio 1.
Key points of discussion are as follows:
- The figures possibly underestimate children treated for alcohol issues as they look only at hospital admissions excluding the emergency department treatment.
- For children under 10 years of age mostly it is accidental ingestion of alcohol or other drugs that were not properly protected.
- For children over 13 years it is generally purposeful ingestion of alcohol or other drugs.
- According to science, parental supply of alcohol increases children having dangerous alcohol consumption behaviour, doubles the risk of binge alcohol use and more than doubles alcohol related harm.
Relationship between Parental Attitudes and Children’s Alcohol Use
- Alcohol will do more damage to a child than to an adult. The brain undergoes major development in adolescence, specifically in the frontal cortex which is involved with decision making, emotional stability. Alcohol affects this brain development and decision making processes negatively.
The earlier you start [to consume alcohol], the more likely you are to have problematic alcohol use,” said Professor Deirdre Murray, Consultant Paediatrician at Cork University Hospital, as per RTE Radio 1.
Listen to entire conversation
Access the full discussion here.
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For further reading from the Science Hub:
Even “Regular” Parental Alcohol Intake Tied To Kids’ Mental Ill-health