The Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction (Trimbos Institute) in collaboration with the Netherlands Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (NIGZ) are targeting parents with their national parenting campaign ‘prevent alcohol damage in your teenager’. Parents can visit the website www.alcoholinfo.nl to ask questions and get concrete parenting tips to limit alcohol use in their children.

The first phase of the campaign (late 2006) showed that there is a difference between what parents consider to be effective strategies and recent scientific insights about dealing with alcohol within the family. Parents find that setting rules is difficult and ineffective. They find talking to their child more effective in limiting alcohol use. However, the latest research findings show that talking about alcohol is only effective if it is accompanied by establishing clear rules and enforcing them.

Furthermore, the research shows that even though the vast majority of parents are against alcohol use by the under 16s, youngsters who drink report that it is their parents who are the main providers of alcohol.