According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, parents should begin talking with their children about alcohol at as early as nine years old. But why is this necessary at such a young age? Pediatricians say parents should get the talk in before the kids even think about taking their first sip of alcohol.

About 20 percent of children admit to drinking alcohol before they turned 13 years old. And by the time they graduate high school, almost all have consumed the substance at least once. These children are not only drinking alcohol underage, they are drinking too much of it. When they are able to get the alcohol, they tend to want to drink as much as they can and end up binge drinking. It seems normal for them to experiment with it since it seems like everyone else is doing it.

Parents are urged to speak with their children on this topic because the children trust parents’ opinions, even if they don’t show it. About 80 percent of teens admit that their parents are their biggest influence on their decision to drink or not. So parents, have an open conversation with your children about the effects and dangers of alcohol.