According to Sigfússon (pictured during the Healthy School Iceland study trip), parents have a liberal attitude toward their children and therefore allow them to drink. Trimbos and the Netherlands Youth Institute surveyed 4,000 young people aged 15 and 16 at schools in the six municipalities participating in pilots with the Icelandic Model.
Some findings:
- 75% had consumed alcohol at some point, and 53% had done so in the previous month; the European average is 49%. 25% also drink alcohol at home.
- 35% had been drunk at some point, and 19% had done so in the previous month; the European average is 13%.
In the broadcast, Sigfússon explains how attitudes toward alcohol consumption among young people have changed in Iceland: “Parents know much more than they did 20 years ago about brain development.” Sigfússon observes that in the Netherlands this is fully accepted by many parents. “In the Netherlands, parents think it is perfectly fine for children to drink alcohol. That is the difference compared with many other countries.” In the broadcast, Sigfússon also warns of the consequences: “We know that children who start drinking at the age of 15 are four times more likely to become addicted to alcohol and become alcoholics. And who would want to be the parent of such a child?”
Barbara Werrij, a paediatrician at Antonius Hospital in Sneek, also speaks: “Children who have fallen victim to binge drinking to the point of coma perform less well in terms of IQ and drop down one school level.”
According to the young people who speak in the broadcast, smoking is treated more seriously than alcohol.
Watch the Nieuwsuur broadcast here.