Understand why some young people drink alcohol

If your child has started drinking alcohol, or showing an interest in it, understanding their motivations is a good first step towards helping them understand why an alcohol-free childhood is the best option. 

Why young people might drink

Experimenting with alcohol becomes more common as children get older. For example in England in 2023, 15% of 11-year-olds said they had tried alcohol compared to 62% of 15-year-olds.¹

Risky behaviour is more common during puberty. The development of the rational ‘thinking brain’ is not fully completed until 16 or 17-years-old, with more ‘fine tuning’ right into the early 20s’.^2,3

The Chief Medical Officers' recommend an alcohol-free childhood is the healthiest and best option, with no alcohol until at least the age of 15 – and until 18 only with adult supervision.

Differences from adults

It’s vitally important to understand that drinking alcohol affects children’s health differently to adults. That’s why – as well as advising that an alcohol-free childhood is the safest and best option – the UK Chief Medical Officers also say that if any teenagers do drink alcohol, it shouldn’t be at least until the age of 15, in a supervised environment, and no more than once a week.⁴

Your children might be drawn to alcohol, even if their first experience of it is unpleasant. It’s not uncommon for them to persist despite them not liking the taste or the way it makes them feel. If they know you’re a good person to talk to about it, they’re more likely to let you know what part (if any) alcohol plays in their life, and listen to advice about healthy choices.

Survey of 11 to 15-year-olds

Common reasons that young people (11 to 15-year-olds) give for why they think people their age drink alcohol include:⁵

• To look cool in front of their friends (74%)
• Their friends pressure them into it (62%)
• To be more sociable with friends (61%)
• It gives them a rush or a buzz (60%)
• It helps them forget their problems (53%)
• Other people they live with drink (52%)

Underlying motivations

Understanding why your child may drink alcohol can help you influence them to enjoy an alcohol-free childhood.

1. Teenagers want to fit in with friends or copy older siblings. Although pushing boundaries and testing rules are part of growing up, young people feel safer if they have clear rules, with consequences for breaking them. If an older sibling is the source of envy, ask them to set a good example – wanting to be admired could reinforce their own good behaviour too.
2. Adolescents want to test your boundaries and prove they're 'grown up'. Younger children will ask questions but ultimately are likely to accept being told “you’re too young”. But for older children, acknowledging and respecting their growing maturity means they’re more likely to listen if you’re able to explain why avoiding alcohol is so important for their health.
3. Your children are copying your behaviour. If you get home and say “Oh, I could do with a drink!”, you may be setting the example that alcohol is somehow an essential part of life. Setting a good example can be the key to protecting them against early and unwise drinking.^6,7
4. They might have problems- with themselves, school, or friends. Drinking regularly, often looking hungover, drinking alone, or during the daytime could be signs that a young person is ‘drinking to cope’. More than 50% of 11 to 15-year-old pupils said they drink to forget about their problems.⁸

Ways to prevent your child from drinking underage.