3 August 2010

W100646-Hlth

Families learn about alcohol at the Eisteddfod The Chief Medical Officer visits festival to talk to parents and children about the dangers of underage drinking

The Chief Medical Officer for , Dr Tony Jewell, is today (Tuesday 3 August) encouraging families visiting the Wales National Eisteddfod to go along to the Welsh Assembly Government stand and learn about alcohol and underage drinking.

Parents and children visiting the ‘You, Your Child and Alcohol’ stand today will be able to take part in an interactive game designed to dispel the myths associated with drinking alcohol. They will also be able to put their thoughts about the risks of underage drinking to the camera, which will then be used in promotional activities as well as being sent to schools.

Over the past decade, the amount of alcohol consumed by 11-15 year olds in Wales has doubled, and more than 250,000 young people aged 11-16 in Wales have reported being drunk at least twice.*

To tackle this growing trend, the Chief Medical Officer’s position statement was published in June, setting out three guiding principles: Children under 15 should not drink alcohol at all; drinking at age 15 and older can be hazardous to health; and if parents use alcohol responsibly, it's more likely their children will too. News Dr Jewell, who is visiting the Eisteddfod today, will speak to parents and children about the harms of alcohol, hear what they think about the guidance, and also discuss the benefits of families talking about alcohol with their children from an early age.

The recently published booklet You, Your Children and Alcohol which offers practical advice to parents on children and alcohol will be available at the stand.

Dr Jewell said: "The risks associated with excessive alcohol consumption are well-known. However, young people are far more vulnerable to its effects and it can often put their health at risk, and put them in some dangerous situations.

“Parents often underestimate how much influence they actually have on their children, but even from an early age, children develop strong ideas and attitudes towards alcohol. We have produced a booklet designed to offer clear and consistent advice for families to help

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their children to delay the age at which they start drinking and to ensure that if and when they do drink alcohol, they drink less and more responsibly."

One parent who has already broached the subject with his children is 38-year-old Keith Henson from Nebo in Ceredigion. He has two daughters aged 17 and 15, and a two-and-a- half year old son.

“As parents, we try and encourage the children to be as open as possible about alcohol,” Keith said. “They’ve always been willing to engage in conversation about it.

“With my children, their questions about alcohol started at an early age. They would often ask for a sip of wine if we happened to have a glass with our evening meal or at a restaurant.

“Now that my eldest daughters are at an age where they’re going out with friends, I’d say we bring up the subject of alcohol at least once a week, or whenever they go out.

“We ask them to look after themselves and to try not to get into trouble. If they are going to drink, we ask them to do so sensibly. We think it’s important to give them some free rein and not be too strict, but it’s the parents’ responsibility to handle each situation with a mix of discipline and freedom. There is no right or wrong way.

“Having said that, we shouldn’t underestimate the ability our children have to make sensible decisions independently. Our youngest daughter’s friends are aged between 15 and 16- years-old and they went out at the weekend to the local town. Our daughter did not want to go along as she knew they were only going out to drink.

“Our daughters have seen the damage drinking alcohol can do from the television programmes they watch and, together with parental advice, I see this as an effective way of getting the message across.”

The Strengthening Families Programme (SFP) in Wales helps parents and their children gain a better understanding of the harms of alcohol and other substance misuse, and how to reduce the likelihood of children experiencing health-damaging behaviour.

Seven-week long courses are run throughout the year across Wales, teaching children aged 10 – 14 how to resist peer pressure and the natural temptation to try new things such as alcohol. The courses also help parents understand the influence they have on their children and provide them with the tools they need to communicate more effectively.

Six of the programmes in Wales are currently being evaluated as part of a research programme led by . This will examine the success the programme has on young people in reducing drinking, smoking and drug use, against those who have not attended the course.

Mandy Morgan, SFP Lead Trainer for Wales, has seen several families benefit from attending the courses: “The SFP provides an innovative way to enable all families to build on their strengths and develop resilience, putting into practice good decision making and effective communication skills when challenges faced by all parents and children in our communities arise.

“This course is aimed at strengthening the parent and child relationship, supporting a positive experience of the teenage years, preventing alcohol and drug use and behavioural problems in adolescence. Through discussions, fun games and activities, families solve

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problems together, learn about rules and consequences and explore ways to show love and support, strengthening family communication.

“Any family can experience challenges, especially at the onset of adolescence. This course is unique in the way it works with both parents and their young people, bringing them together.”

For more information on taking a sensible approach to drinking alcohol, visit www.drinkwisewales.org.uk [Ends] Notes to Editors

Case studies from Ceredigion and Cardiff are available. For further information or to arrange interviews with our Ceredigion or Cardiff case studies, please contact: Lynette Evans at COI News & PR: [email protected] / 0300 123 1008 / 07817 428 821

• Ceredigion parent Keith Henson is a Welsh speaker and is available for Welsh language interviews.

• CARDIFF CASE STUDY David and Lorraine Cummings from Cardiff decided to approach the Strengthening Families team in Cardiff when their 14-year-old son’s behaviour started becoming more and more erratic. “As parents, we had tried lots of different programmes and techniques to try and improve our relationship with Oliver,” said 56-year-old charity worker, David. “His behaviour was becoming more and more difficult to handle and we needed answers on how we could work with him to improve the situation before he got older, and is faced with other temptations that most teenagers are faced with, such as alcohol. “It was a difficult decision to make, but a friend of the family is a councillor and recommended the course to us. “We really didn’t know what to expect but we found it really useful straight away. What separated this course from the other programmes we had tried in the past, was that we could bring Oliver with us. As parents, this really helped us to understand his point of view and he could also learn to appreciate our situation. Most importantly, we learned how to listen to one another. “We took part in activities as a family and on our own. As parents, we were asked to consider what Oliver’s aspirations were and what we thought were the most important things in his life. He was also asked how he viewed our family. These activities really helped us to get both perspectives and helped us to listen to one another, together. “We attended the course once a week for seven weeks and we finished in May. The course has really helped us to believe that we are good parents once again. There are still times when Oliver can be difficult, but we know the techniques we need to use to bring him back. We can sit down and talk things through with him now which I hope will make his future teenage years easier to deal with.

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“As parents, I think there are times where we think we’ve lost our way a little. This course has helped us to bring us back on track – and we’ve done it as a family.”

• The Chief Medical Officer for Wales has published his recommendations on protecting children and young people from the risks associated with alcohol consumption. The three guiding principles are:

1. Children under 15 shouldn’t drink alcohol.

2. Drinking at age 15 and older can be hazardous to health.

3. If parents use alcohol responsibly, it’s more likely their children will too.

• The You, Your Child and Alcohol guidance is available online at:http://wales.gov.uk/topics/health/ocmo/publications/position/alcohol/?lang=en and will be available from Family Information Services in late August and schools in the next term.

• The Profile of Alcohol and Health in Wales produced by the Wales Centre for Health with the National Public Health Service for Wales (NPHS), was published on 6 April 2009. The full report can be downloaded from: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/888/page/44063

• The Strengthening Families programme is part-funded by a Welsh Assembly Government grant of £370,000. A total of 700 families from Cardiff, Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Flintshire, Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil and Wrexham will take part in the two-year research project which encourages parents to better communicate with their children, and gives them coping strategies to deal with problems such as peer pressure and stress as a family. A team of researchers led by Cardiff University is evaluating the Strengthening Families Programme in six areas as part of a £2.5 million Randomised Control Trial funded by the National Prevention Research Initiative, a UK-wide initiative led by the Medical Research Council.

The research trial – called Project SFP Cymru - will involve families in Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Flintshire, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil and Wrexham. A team from Cardiff University’s Cardiff Institute of Society and Health (CISHE) will monitor the results for two years after families enter the trial.

The Strengthening Families Programme is currently running in Cardiff, Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Flintshire, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Wrexham and Rhondda Cynon Taf.

To join and for more information contact:

Caerphilly: 07824 596991 / [email protected] Cardiff: 02920 468589 [email protected] Carmarthenshire: 01554 744377 [email protected] Flintshire: 01244 551247 Merthyr Tydfil: 02920 881000 / [email protected] Rhondda Cynon Taf: 01443 827000 / [email protected] Swansea: 01792 472002 / [email protected]

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Wrexham: 01978 729786 / [email protected]

• Drink Wise Wales is any easy-to-use bilingual website giving information on sensible drinking, where you can calculate how much you are drinking, and learn about how alcohol affects your body. There’s also information on the number of calories in popular alcoholic drinks, and a reaction game demonstrating how alcohol can slow you down.

Visit: www.drinkwisewales.org.uk and www.yfeddoethcymru.org.uk

• DAN the Wales Drug and Alcohol Helpline, provides free and confidential information or help on issues relating to drugs or alcohol. Call: 0800 633 55 88

• NHS Direct Wales provides health information on a wide range of conditions, treatments and local health services. Call: 0845 46 47 or visit: www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk

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