Children: Pint-Size Alcoholics

While many health-conscious adults have been forsaking liquor for Perrier, children have been hitting the bottle with alarming abandon. The National Council on Alcoholism says that some 100,000 ten- and eleven-year-olds get drunk at least once a week, usually on beer or wine, and 3.3 million teenagers have serious drinking problems.

In response the council is starting a $500,000 education campaign to discourage young people from drinking. Even third-graders are getting the message. Weekly Reader, the nation’s leading school newspaper, tells the story this month of Robbie the Racoon, who disdainfully pours out a beer offered by his friend’s big brother.