Letting teens drink alcohol at home may lead to heavier alcohol use as young adults, study finds

Some parents might think that letting their teenager try alcohol at home under supervision can diminish curiosity about alcohol and help promote safe drinking. But a new study in the journal Addictive Behaviors found that parents providing drinks — or even just letting underage kids taste alcohol — is linked to heavier drinking and alcohol-related issues down the line.

"A robust relationship was found between parental permission to use alcohol during adolescence and increased alcohol use frequency and quantity, alcohol use disorder symptoms, and alcohol-related harms in young adulthood," the study says. 

The study also found that the exact age of kids when their parents allowed them to drink "was not associated with later alcohol use outcomes, suggesting a uniform risk effect of parental permission to drink."