Attention! Don't boost kids to 'sip' alcohol

Parents, take note! Children who are allowed occasional sips of alcohol are more likely to start drinking by the time they are in high school, a new study has warned. Researchers found that, of 561 students in a long-term study, those who had "sipped" alcohol by sixth grade were five times more likely than their peers to down a full drink by the time they were in high school. They were also four times more likely to have binged or been drunk. The findings do not prove that early sips of alcohol are to blame, said lead researcher Kristina Jackson, of the Centre for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University in Providence. "We're not trying to say whether it's 'OK' or 'not OK' for parents to allow this," Jackson said.