Raising children to become responsible drinkers has become a pressing issue across many American households. While some parents try their best to prevent their child from consuming alcohol, other parents believe that participating in underage drinking is inevitable for teens and they trust that their child will learn how to drink responsibly... even if that means letting them drink under mom and dad's supervision.

Allowing teens to drink with adult supervision has become a common practice among parents, and some believe it helps reduce the development of problems with alcohol in the future. But are these assumptions true? A recent study by the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs has shown that teens who participate in supervised drinking are actually more likely to have more alcohol-related problems than those whose parents tell them not to drink and do not drink until they are of legal age. There are many effective ways to teach your child about responsible drinking habits and research continues to show that allowing supervised drinking only makes teens more susceptible to developing drinking problems. The study suggests the Surgeon General's "zero tolerance" policy in hopes that these messages will help reinforce responsible drinking for teens in the future.

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