Movies & Drinking

Can the movies your kids watch affect their drinking habits later in life?

Yes they can. And now we are finding out it influences them in more ways than we thought.

In this newest study, researchers found children who aren't allowed to watch R rated movies are also much less likely to drink alcohol at an early age. They looked at over three thousand middle school children and followed them for two years. 19 percent of those whose parents "sometimes" let them see R rated movies started drinking alcohol in that two year period. Compare that to the ones whose parents "never" allowed them to see these movies---only 3 percent of these kids drank alcohol. And it seems the more R rated movies they watched the more likely it was for these kids to drink early on. Those middle school children who were able to watch these movies "all the time"---25 percent of them drank alcohol within the two years of this study.

And this research backs up other studies linking children's viewing of R rated movies and shows with adult content to early drinking, smoking and sex. Part of the reason behind this might be that 90 percent of R rated movies show some type of alcohol drinking. Experts also think that watching adult content in these movies might actually change children's personalities, making them more prone to risk taking.

So you best bet is to watch what your children watch, and if adult issues come up in something, talk with them about these subjects and what it means to both you and them.