Whether your child raises it or you broach the subject of drinking, when it does come up, make your views utterly clear. Your tween may not parrot your opinions the way he did when he was seven, but he still very much cares what you think.

As you can see from the statistics, the number of children experimenting with alcohol is low–and it continues to decline! But in the event that you find out that your child has taken that “first sip,” here are some ways to start the difficult conversation about underage drinking