'No sips or tastes': Why this Wollongong mum took a hard line against alcohol

And while new stats show almost half of all current teenage drinkers, aged between 12 and 17, got their last drink from their parents, Ms Hall said she found it easy not to give in.

"No sips or tastes at all is what we lived by in our house," she said.

"Because I think letting kids drink at home is giving them mixed messaging."

"Having worked in public health, I knew the impact that having alcohol can have on the adolescent brain, and I've got a family history of significant mental health problems and we just didn't need alcohol thrown into the mix."

"My husband and I both do drink alcohol, but I just think there's so much that kids deal with now in their adolescence, and my older children were doing their senior years of school during the pandemic - so I felt like you just didn't need any other problems.

"It was better to just have an absolute no, and then once they turned 18 they had their first glass of champagne."

The public health researcher, whose daughters are now aged 17, 20, and 22, said she was pleased to see the launch of a new local campaign targeting parents of teenagers about the dangers of any drinking at all.

The 'Keep Their Future Bright' campaign is funded by the local Primary Health Network, Coordinare, which covers the Illawarra and South East NSW and highlights that even in small amounts, alcohol can damage the development of cells inside the adolescent brain.

Coordinare Chief Executive Officer Prue Buist said many locals drink at levels that pose short-term and long-term risks of harm to their health.

"Concerningly, our region also has some of the highest rates of alcohol-related hospitalisations across the state," she said.

According to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, delaying drinking and having upfront conversations about its harms can help teenagers to drink less and more safely in the future.

"Adolescence is a time of big physical changes and drinking alcohol, even in small amounts, can impact the developing brain," the foundation's CEO Dr Erin Lalor said.

"The campaign emphasises the important role parents can play in setting their kids up for a healthy future.

"This includes having open conversations with their children about alcohol and its effects, where they may be exposed to alcohol, what they can do if they feel pressured to drink, and letting them know they can always turn to you for help no matter what situation they find themselves in.

"Everyone has a different approach to parenting, but most parents choose not to give alcohol to their underage children. Not supplying alcohol and explaining the reasons why, can help keep your child healthy and safe."

Ms Hall said she wanted other Illawarra parents to know that it was okay for them to hold the line.

"It's really hard being a parent," she said.

"You're treading that fine line between wanting to keep your kids on side and wanting to guide them and even wanting to be their friends.

"But ultimately you're also their protectors, and I think most parents want to protect their kids and let them to grow up to be healthy young people with the best chances and opportunities in life.

"Your kids might be kind of a bit cross with you that day or make out that you're the worst parent in the world, but they'll get over it and ultimately they'll respect you.

"I think other parents would have thought I was really hardline, but I felt like I made the right decision and I didn't care what other parents thought or what other kids thought. I just wanted to keep my kids safe."

She said she found that many others share her views.

"When you speak up about it and say, 'I'm not judging anyone else, but this is my line' it's always interesting to see how many people say 'Oh, I'm with you'," Ms Hall said.

"I think parents feel pressured, either by their children or by the idea that other children's parents are allowing them to drink, and I think it's good for them to know that not all parents are like that and actually if they choose to not let their kids drink then that's great, and there are lots of parents that also make that same decision."

According to the latest Australian Secondary School Students' Alcohol and Other Drug study, which surveyed more than 11,000 teens aged between 12 and 17 in 2022 and 2023, the number of teenagers who drink is on the decline.

Compared to 1996, when just under 89 per cent of teens surveyed had consumed alcohol, the latest survey found 65 per cent reported having ever drank, including just a few sips.

This rate has been on a steady decline since the early 2000s.

The latest survey also found 44% had consumed an alcoholic drink in the past year, 22% had drank in the past month, and around one in ten (11%) drank in the past week.

Students who reported drinking alcohol in the past week - termed 'current drinkers' - were asked to indicate how they accessed their last alcoholic drink.

Nearly half (47%) obtained their last alcoholic drink from a parent, while only around a quarter (23%) accessed it from a friend, including 14% who specified that their friend was 18 years or older.

Just under one in ten students (9%) indicated that they got someone else to buy their last alcoholic drink, 6% took it from home without permission and a further 6% reported buying it themselves.