Childhood, Family, Alcohol

Drawing together international research from the fields of geography, alcohol studies, sociology, psychology and childhood studies, Jayne and Valentine explore children’s understandings and experiences of alcohol consumption and the role of alcohol in family life. Chapters address both extra-familial ’norms’ about parenting and drinking cultures which are generated in wider society (through law/regulation, media/advertising and social networks etc.) and intra-familial ’norms’, including the modelling behaviour of family members’, attitudes to alcohol, drinking habits and practices, rules and guidance, and initiating children to drinking. Based on empirical research undertaken in the UK, and drawing on studies from around the world, Childhood, Family, Alcohol advances theoretical debates and offers insights relevant to policy and practice by: · adopting a cross-generational perspective on drinking cultures · exploring pre-teen children’s understandings of alcohol · focusing on the significance of the spaces of everyday family life · considering adult alcohol consumption, drinking practices and drunken performativities · reflecting on social/individualized consumption, social reproduction, adult-children interaction and materialities · showing the importance of non-(and more-than) representational understanding of the complexities of childhood, family life and alcohol consumption.