When I was a kid, my dad would let me take a slug or two from his cold beer on a hot day. Never more than a little, though. I felt so grown up and special and ... sick! It was disgusting! I hated the taste, but never told Dad. Or my brother. That would not have been cool.
A lot of parents I know allow these harmless samplings, many with the hope that their children's immature taste buds will revolt and discourage them from taking to the stuff till at least age 21. It certainly worked for me. Just never developed a taste for the stuff.
I was reading on Babble.com about the mom who took underage drinking a little too far.
She didn't just allow a sip, she poured drinks. Not just for her middle school daughter, but a whole party of her friends. She handed the drinks out, even comforted the kids as they vomitted later. Aw, how sweet.
Surprise, suprise she got arrested.
Okay, so I know you wouldn't do anything like that, but how often do you break the rules and let your tween or teen sneak a sip of a cocktail or beer?
My husband and I argue about this all the time. He's of the mind that it's better not to prohibit underage drinking because they are going to do it anyway, so it's way better to allow it at home where we can keep an eye on things. I do see his point, but NO WAY. That's breaking the law.
Do you believe that kids shouldn't have any alcohol whatsoever until they turn 21 or do you bend the rules and permit underage drinking when you're around?
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Comments 12
I drank under age at a friends house. Her dad was fine with it as long as there were only one or two people, and we weren't allowed to leave. I thank God that I had a safe and secure place to do that in because if I hadn't I would have gone out to the unsupervised parties, co-ed and drank in excess. Possibly even drove like some of the people I knew who frequented those sorts of things.
I understand that a lot of parents don't want to 'o.k.' it, but truth be told I would rather my child went over to a friends house, supervised, and drank then god knows where, with a bunch of people.I'm not in a position yet (my son is only 2 and if def. def. not old enough to drink) so I will have a lot of time to consider what I will and will not allow in my house before then.
My dad and my uncle used to let us have the last sip of their beers but there was barely anything there and it was yuck.
I can understand parents views on allowing their child to drink in their own home but all it takes is once to get busted, a kid to get seriously sick or even die. I'm not sure its worth the big jail sentence you could get.
That is my opinion and I can respect others mom's opinions on this even if it differs from mine.
my parents are old school -- european style. we were allowed to drink at home at special occasions ans there was a group of us that if we wanted to drink we knew that we could at each others houses. The result: NONE of us ever though that drinking was such a big deal, we rarely (I won't say never) went to the Hidden Lake of our area and if we did we'd nurse 1 beer and that's that unlike many of our peers who did get drunk etc.
We all have a super healthy respect for drinking and driving and were well aware of our limits BEFORE we went out to clubs and started to drink in public.
My parents treated alchol as a SOCIAL thing, it was not "cool" to get drunk, you drank to enjoy the flavor of the wine/liquior and sometimes at a party for fun but to get "drunk" was uncool.
My older great-uncle told me once b/f he passed away : I want you to KNOW what the diff. drinks are, what you like and don't like, and what your limits are BEFORE you go out in public that way people can't just take adv. of you.
Oh and yea, dad did give me a sip of his beer... YUCK!!! Still don't really like beer unless its VERY cold on a HOT day.
You know in countries where alchol is NOT treated as a "pariah" thing they have less incidents of drunk driving etc. but in places that are switching to a more "American" style the incidents of such behaviors is on the rise... interesting.
I AGREE with MamiJaAyla and had a similar experience.....my grandfather made wine in the basement & I have fond memories of that YUMMY stuff. We always had a lil glass of wine with Sunday dinners at my Nana's house. Alcohol wasn't a mystery to me and having a little wine with dinner wasn't a 'big deal'. I feel that this should be a PARENT'S decision.....I even remember being able to drink alcohol in a restaurant as long as my mother ordered it....I'm guessing that can't be done these days.....
I RARELY drink.....and I was never too wild. Sometimes when you have strict parents, the moment you get FREEDOM, YOU LOSS IT!!! EVERY Fall term at College there were ALWAYS some students being taken away for alcohol poisoning.....
I think it's in most European countries drinking age is 18 (16) they hardly ever check. In the early 70's you could buy beer and wine in the state of West VA at age 16....drinking age in FL was 19 until the bitter end mid-80's....the US only went up to 21 in ALL STATES in the mid-80's by threat of NO MONEY for interstates. ****How do I know about WV??, we lived in PA (21 drinking age) & my mom would drive down to WV with ME IN THE CAR to buy alcohol.
a kid to get seriously sick or even die.
That seems a lot more likely to happen to kids out drinking with no parental supervision.
We were allowed a little glass of champagne here (New Years) and when we were older teens, maybe a beer (3.2%). There's NO WAY IN HELL my parents would have let us get drunk under their noses. That's ridiculous. Instead, we were taught moderation. It wasn't forbidden fruit.
That is crazy. Teenagers will experiment no matter was we do but they need to back off an focus on their futures.
As a family that has had many members with alcohol problems, I would not allow kids to drink in my home. Neither do I set that example of something one needs for fun. I can see the handwriting on the wall for some and it isn't pretty. I don't go with the idea let 'em do what they want, they will do it anyway, I say you are a parent. There are many things you would not let them do at home. This has brought about a whole new generation of kids that do what they want where they want. If they want to sleep with a boyfriend, let 'em. How about smoking pot? they may want to do that also. Can we step up and be parents. No is an answer that not enough teens get. grannywilson