Survey: One in four parents offer alcohol to children

Approximately 25 percent of parents in Slovakia have offered their children an alcoholic beverage when they were 12 to 14 years old, according to a survey carried out by a civil association with the name of Drink with Sense Slovakia. Association head Erik Cizek explained that parents often regard it as an opportune time to give their children a lesson about alcohol and its effects when they can supervise them drinking. "In most cases, namely in 68 percent of them, they decide to let their children have a taste of beer, probably due to the common myth that beer is less harmful," said Cizek, noting that it doesn't matter whether you offer a child half a litre of beer, two decilitres of wine or of half a decilitre of spirit, as the amount of alcohol contained in these amounts of these beverages is almost the same. The survey concluded that around 90 percent of respondents wrongly estimated how much alcohol is contained in various drinks.