An investigation by BBC Radio 5 live has revealed 293 children aged 11 or under needed hospital help – a rise of a third from the previous year.
Elaine Hindal, chief executive of Drinkaware, was one of many voicing concern at the figures. She said: “Younger children's bodies can't take it. They're more at risk of alcoholic poisoning, and more likely to be a victim of alcohol-related violence.”
House party
Worryingly, evidence also suggests that while younger children mainly experiment with alcohol, many begin to drink regularly as they get older. In the past year, 6,500 under-18s were admitted to AE departments.
So, how do you even begin to tackle such a problem? As generations of parents have found, stern, wagging-fingered tellings-off are famously ineffective. (For many kids, once they reach a certain age it's pretty much an article of faith to do the opposite of what their parents say.)
That's why the Red Cross tried a different approach. Working with a collective of young people, we produced an interactive short film – Story of a night out– which convincingly recreates a house party.
All the ingredients are there: drinking, snogging, loud music, illicitly-bought booze, vomiting. But the film also includes some stark examples of how things can go wrong at a party – and, crucially, how young people can take the lead in providing first aid.
First on the scene
Joe Mulligan, head of first aid education, said: “We all know that teenagers drink – that's a fact. And if there's an accident at a house party, it's likely the first person on the scene will be another teenager.
“We devised this DVD after talking to young people about the situations they find themselves in. We need to get away from the clinical image of first aid and show young people how these skills are relevant to their lives.”
The free DVD has already been sent to 6,000 secondary schools across the UK, with great success. It just goes to show that many young people do realise the dangers of drinking and are willing to take action, if only they're given a clear message in the right way.