One in three seventh graders experiments with drinking alcohol before their 13th birthday, according to a study published in Pediatrics. It also says these early drinkers were nearly twice as likely to consider suicide and at more than triple the risk of trying to kill themselves than their non-drinking peers.
Researchers say it's a mistake to wait until middle or high school to talk to kids about drinking. If parents do that they miss the opportunity for those in late elementary school that have already started.
