“Surveys indicate that children start to think positively about alcohol between ages 9 and 13 years. The more young people are exposed to alcohol advertising and marketing, the more likely they are to drink, and if they are already drinking, this exposure leads them to drink more,” Dr. Lorena Siqueira, a Miami pediatrician, and colleagues write in the journal Pediatrics.

“Therefore, it is very important to start talking to children about the dangers of drinking as early as 9 years of age.”

Parents may not realize their kids are trying booze so young. And pediatricians may not think to ask a pre-teen about it.