News of a minimum price for alcohol broke last week and it's still the subject of many column inches today although timesonline is now reporting that Gordon Brown has rejected the idea. The Conservative's ideas of targeted rises on both loss-leader promotions and high-alcohol drinks is laudable, but it's not enough in isolation.
And Simon Carr in the Independent illustrates perfectly a significant part of the problem - parental disengagement. I don't know how old his children are, but he expects everyone else to keep them occupied and out of trouble and unashamedly dismisses his own 'guzzling' with the fact that 'role models don't always work'. No they don't always, but often they do. And this includes not just how we drink in the home but how we handle our money. The fact that one in ten admissions to hospital for alcohol abuse is for a minor with no personal income should be shocking us here. Let me ask the obvious - where do most teens get their money from? Answer, their parents. How many parents are teaching their kids how use this money sensibly? Anecdotally I would say the minority. I know many who seem to 'demand supply' their kids with cash. So isn't this ready supply part of the problem?
Teaching your teenagers how to budget on an 'allowance' seems to be out of fashion big time, but it is a crucial parental role. My daughter has had her monthly allowance since she was 12 - she has to cover her phone, pet supplies, stationary, travel, gifts and other specified items. When the money runs out, no more is forthcoming until the 1st of the next month. Hard lessons are learned - but that's the point - they are learned. And where did I get my model from? From my parents.
You can't legislate for this but it is part of the bigger picture of the need for Government to raise the status of parenting. And not only do more confident, more involved parents who nurture and teach their children good habits save the NHS Public and Mental Health budget millions, but they are an investment for the future of civil society.
