Should parents introduce their underage children to alcohol and supervise them in order to teach them responsible drinking?

Opinions vary in different countries but in Australia guidelines and policies encourage parents to delay their children's initiation into drinking. A recent review of the evidence suggests that there is actually limited research in this area and that the evidence is rather mixed. Rather than such an emphasis on the age of initiation to drinking, the review suggests that there may be more important factors related to the development of risky or problematic drinking. These include the age a young person first gets drunk or the number of times a young person is intoxicated prior to being sixteen years old. The article also suggests that many parenting programs aimed at educating and discussing these issues are often not designed in a way to be acceptable to the parents that most need it. 

Read an overview of the article here