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Original poster

What age did you / would you let your child drink?

60 replies

thaegumathteth · 22/12/2018 07:29

Ds is 12 (just)!-dh thinks he should be allowed a glass of cider at Christmas. I don’t think I like the idea .... he’s had sips of things but never a full glass.

What do you think?

OP posts:
MarmaladeIsMyJam · 22/12/2018 07:33

Why does he think that?? There are only 12! 15/16 here

PenApple · 22/12/2018 07:40

We were brought up around alcohol (not alcoholics), if we asked for some we would get a small amount. I probably started having a glass of wine with special meals at around 12.

However my ds is nearly 12 and I wouldn’t consider offering a glass, if he asked i’d maybe give a small one.

donajimena · 22/12/2018 07:43

I won't let them. When they are 18 they will be free to choose but at 15 and 13 they aren't interested. Drinking alcohol isn't obligatory. I don't believe that letting them have small amounts at home makes them more responsible with it.

MigGril · 22/12/2018 07:46

Well to be honest you can offer them alcohol from quite a young age, DD 11 has had some already. (She doesn't really like it)
But I wouldn't offer cider, wine watered down maybe. If they want to try it then don't offer a sweat option that they are likely to like. They should try actual alcohol, cider tends to make you sick anyway as to sweet.

fleshmarketclose · 22/12/2018 07:48

We don't drink alcohol at all here so none in the house ever. I did buy dc some to take to parties from being sixteen. I didn't want them to see alcohol as a forbidden fruit as I think it makes it more desirable. Now they are older none of them drink alcohol themselves, we don't seem to enjoy the taste or the effects.

PaintBySticker · 22/12/2018 07:49

I think 12 is too young. Maybe at 15/16 a small glass of something with a special family meal to take away some of the ‘glamour’ of drinking. I think (?) you can order wine for a 16 year old when having a meal in a restaurant.

AuntieStella · 22/12/2018 07:49

I think that's rather young.

I have let younger DC have a small glass for a toast at a wedding, but not at home (not even in special occasions) until 16+ (legal age for beer/wine/cider with me)

AuntieStella · 22/12/2018 07:51

Not 'with me' (no extra laws about that!)

With meal

PaintBySticker · 22/12/2018 07:51

“It is not illegal:
For someone over 18 to buy a child over 16 beer, wine or cider if they are eating a table meal together in licensed premises.
For a child aged five to 16 to drink alcohol at home or on other private premises.”

Personally I wouldn’t give alcohol to a 5 year old!

bellinisurge · 22/12/2018 07:52

Sip of Prosecco for my 11 year old this Christmas. That's it.

BigGreenOlives · 22/12/2018 07:52

16 or so, wine or beer with a meal.

delilahbucket · 22/12/2018 07:53

At that age I would allow it but not a full glass. Maybe a very weak lager shandy or wine and lemonade. Very little alcohol and drunk slowly with a meal

SavageBeauty73 · 22/12/2018 07:56

Too young for me. My 13 year old wouldn't dream of asking.

Lozzy25 · 22/12/2018 07:59

I was 14 when I had my first drink! My parents let me at a family party where they could keep an eye on me. Now almost 26 I don't drink at all! I've never liked alcohol that much 😊

MaisyPops · 22/12/2018 08:01

On special occasions we were allowed to sip from our mum's glass from about 8 or 9 if we asked (udually deciding it was disgusting), a tiny bit of wine mixed with lemonade from about 10 or 11 (think no more than half an inch of wine in the bottom). The wine in the bottom was allowed to increase as we got older

We didn't have our own proper drink until we were 13/14.

None of us grew up to be big drinkers. 2 of us rarely drink now. We were taught that alcohol is a nice thing to enjoy in moderation.

XmasHolly · 22/12/2018 08:03

My DD was never interested, not even in a sip. Now she's 22 she barely touches a drop of alcohol from one year to the next! Much like many of her friends, tbh.

Notso · 22/12/2018 08:05

I was allowed alcohol at family gatherings and special occasions from being very little, a tiny Baileys at 4, cider from 9 and anything I wanted from 13.
It didn't make me sensible about drinking at all. I still did the getting hammered in a field thing, still got so drunk I was sick, still drank every weekend beacause I thought that's what people did.
My DD is 18 and was allowed to take cider to parties at 16 after GCSE's, my family thought I was uptight and stingy for not letting her drink earlier but also for limiting my own drinking around her. I don't drink much in front of my children, the odd glass of wine with dinner and a little more at Christmas but seeing me drinking isn't the norm for my kids.

bellinisurge · 22/12/2018 08:07

Baileys at 4?
So sorry you weren't properly monitored.

Jackshouse · 22/12/2018 08:13

Research shows children you drink a sensible amount at home with adults are more likely to binge drink when they are older and start drinking at a younger age.

Mixing it with lemonade will make it taste nice and be more desirable.

I only have a toddler so I would not suggest a suitable age but I’m finding this thread fascinating.

swimmerforlife · 22/12/2018 08:17

Definitely not at 12! 16+ is fine, I was 16 when I was allowed a glass of wine at the odd family wedding, birthday, Christmas etc etc

NaughtyNoraTheNamechanger · 22/12/2018 08:18

Like a previous poster I was also allowed alcohol from a relatively young age. I remember having a very small glass (literally less than an inch of wine in one of those half-sized wine glasses) at about 7. As the years went on I was allowed more, and at about 14/15 I was regularly allowed a normal sized glass of wine with dinner about once a week. My parents are very responsible people, they never let me have anything really strong (I don't like really strong stuff anyway) and would never let me have more than one glass. So I think a small(ish) glass is okay for a 12 year old at Christmas, but not more than one or anything too sweet that they will think is like a normal soft drink.

Idontmeanto · 22/12/2018 08:22

Small glass of something 12 ish, on a special occasion with food. Not cider, though! He’ll like it as it’s sweet! My 16 year old drinks sensibly here and at friends homes semi regularly. (Couple of times a month, never more than two units in an evening.)

TheStarOnTheChristmasTree · 22/12/2018 08:23

15 here so that by the time they started going out or going to parties at college they knew how to drink sensibly.

Most people I know allow it from 11 or 12 but my childhood was blighted by my parent's drinking and I was encouraged to drink from a young age and regularly got drunk from age 14 with alcohol supplied by my parent's.

TheStarOnTheChristmasTree · 22/12/2018 08:24

Parents

spinn · 22/12/2018 08:28

Surely it depends more on the child's personality. I have a wild kid and a rule follower and my approach to this has varied between kids because I understand how they think, how they react to things and how they are likely to use it