PARENTING : Talking with your child about booze

What you need to know:

  • It’s also an age on which you can have a lot of influence. “At this age, if you tell them it’s bad, they think it’s bad,” says Paul Coleman, a father, family therapist, and author of How to Say It to Your Kids. So state your values firmly, work on establishing good communication with your child, and set an example by avoiding overuse of alcohol.