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Alcohol

What you allow around alcohol: none until the legal age, small sips on occasion, supervised drinking at home, or permissive with safety rules.

Should we let our teen drink alcohol at home?

In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: Zero tolerance until legal age; Sips on special occasions; Supervised drinking at home; Permissive with safety rules. Evidence: evidence leans one way. Research or guidance points in a direction, but it's thin, small or correlational. Best settled: teen.

Evidence
Evidence leans one way
Best settled
Teen
Part of
Learning & the wider world

Alcohol: what are the options?

Parents usually land on one of these 4 approaches.

  1. 1. Zero tolerance until legal age

    The teen may not drink at all until the legal age.

  2. 2. Sips on special occasions

    The teen may taste alcohol at family celebrations.

  3. 3. Supervised drinking at home

    The teen may drink at home with you present.

  4. 4. Permissive with safety rules

    The teen may drink, with rules such as never driving.

Alcohol: what does the evidence say?

Evidence leans one way. Research or guidance points in a direction, but it's thin, small or correlational. (Leans clearly toward no supply)

Parental supply showed no protective effect; drinking before 15 raises later risk

Sources

What else is worth knowing?

Some parents hope that allowing a little alcohol at home teaches moderation. Research does not support that; teens given alcohol by parents tend to drink more, not less. Rules about never driving after drinking stand apart from the rest.

Questions to ask each other

  • What was our own experience with alcohol as teens?
  • What do we want our teen to do at a party where there is drinking?
  • How will we model our own drinking?

More in The teen years

First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.