Many parents believe that allowing their teens to drink and have parties under their watchful eyes and in their own homes is a practical strategy for keeping the teenager safe while he or she experiments with alcohol.

The rationale is that the teenager is probably going to experiment with alcohol anyway - so why not allow them to do so in a safe environment where an adult is present? Isn't this better than having the child sneak around and possibly find themselves in situations which they don't know how to handle?

The motivation for these parents is a good one, but recent studies show that this may not be an effective strategy after all.

A study by Barbara J. McMorris, lead author and a senior research associate at the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota, clearly shows that children who drink under adult supervision have a higher incidence of experiencing negative effects from drinking than children who don't.

One of the arguments against allowing underage drinking is that young people are still developing mentally and physically. Alcohol may interfere with that development in a very negative way.

A better strategy is to educate children about alcohol, encourage them to postpone any experimentation until after they come of age, and model responsible drinking behavior for them.