Alcohol and Its Effects on A Child's Life
Today, were going to talk about a toxin. This may come as a surprise as toxin is one of the more common pseudoscience buzzwords. Truly, there seems to be an abundance of discussion in parenting blog circles about toxins. Ironically, many who espouse these beliefs themselves ingest an incredibly potent neurotoxin: alcohol. Now, to be clear, I too drink; in fact I am an avid brewer and self proclaimed beer connoisseur. But I am also a chemist so I am no stranger to just how dangerous a compound alcohol is. It may seem strange to be discussing an adult beverage on a blog about parenting. But it may surprise you just how deeply this drink affects our lives. Figure 1 : Ethanol Structure Humans have a long cultural history with alcohol. In fact, there is evidence that we have been making some form of beer since 11,000 BCE (13,000 years ago). This makes some sense, as fermentation is an effective way to preserve the calories in grain. Furthermore, our ability to rapidly metaboli...