Is it ok for a 16yr old to get drunk on vodka with a parent?

[MrsKingfisher]

I'm saying no it's not ok. Not my child not my business. However how unpopular is my opinion I wonder?

Does the fact that it's vodka change your opinion? I used to drink beer or alcopops with my parents at that age. They rathered I learned my limits with them where they could see that I was safe. In many cultures teenagers are drinking wine with family before 16.

Not drunk, not vodka - but we do allow our 16 year old a can of cider at the weekend; trying to demystify alcohol a bit for him.

Chavvy imo- clearly a parent who stands by the line “it’s safer they do it with me than on the street”

No. Their brains are still developing and they shouldn’t be getting drunk.
I have a 16 year old and happily allow her to try whatever we’re having. We are currently drinking champagne and she tried it and didn’t like it.

Are there just the two of them setting out to get drunk? Is it within a family group having a drink?

I don’t have a problem with 16 year olds drinking.

Was it a once off? Or is it a regular occurrence ?

I used to drink cider at that age with my parents. Better that than out on the streets like everyone else was doing

Yes if it’s part of a know your limits intended demonstration and not a regular, let’s encourage binge drinking approach.
Doesn’t matter what the alcohol is.

Before my DCs go off to university, they’ve been drunk a few times and have learned their limits, when to stop. Binge drinking is a big part of university culture and I consciously allowed them the years from 16-18 to gradually experiment with alcohol so they’d be better prepared. I went to University and one of my friends was a girl who’d been schooled in a nunnery. She’d only had alcohol at mass. She went off the rails her first year and ended up almost dying from alcohol poisoning. She was in hospital, stomach pumped, etc. It had a big impression on me that you can over shelter your child.

I don’t let mine drink at home other than the odd taste at special occasions but we rarely have alcohol in the house anyway.

Get drunk with them? Regardless of what they're getting drunk on, you're completely nullifying the line between parent and child, completely undermining any authority you have with them which you may desperately require in the next few years to come!

I think it's OK to have one drink with parents. But getting drunk, no. They will do that with friends, it's a rite of passage but it's never OK for an adult to encourage irresponsible drinking. One drink with a meal. Maybe two if they are sipped slowly over the course of an evening. DS is almost 18 and drinks at weekends during lockdown. Last night he had two weak beers during a Zoom party with mates. Tonight he'll have a really small glass of wine. During the week, he's not offered anything.

I don’t think it’s okay.
Parents should try to teach their children about responsible drinking ,I wouldn’t be happy with this, but that’s just my opinion.

I felt ultra cool having a bacardi breezer at that age. One bottle!

It's way too young imo.

What do you mean by drunk? A bit fuzzy headed / giggly on a couple of vodka lemonades, totally ok. Vomiting their guts up, passing out, black-out stage then no.

No

I suppose it is ok to try some vodka at home.when you are 16. I dare say it happens a lot in some homes.

I am from the oldie days, and probably never heard of vodka ha ha. My late Mum did not drink alcohol,my Father used to buy one bottle of whisky for himself at Christmas, and I was allowed to have a small glass of sweet sherry on Christmas day, this was when I was about 15 or 16. !

No. Not spirits. Maybe a couple beers/alcopops or small glass of wine.

No

I let my 15 year old have a can of kopperburg or wine and lemonade occasionally, special occasions and holidays etc . I wouldn’t let her get drunk though not would she want to.

DD had a leavers party down the beach, two massive local schools, all with some police supervision as it’s a bit of a tradition on the last day of school.

Those who drank at home knew their limits, those who were never allowed a drink couldn’t stand up (I have a few of this a lift home with a supply of carrier bags)

At some point they want what their friends are having/doing. They need to respect alcohol if you hide it, they’ll hide it.

A little fuzzy headed exploring limits, tastes, a light beer versus the pack of a spirit is an education. Not full on drunk though. I also had an over-sheltered friend at uni who had never tasted alcohol or met a boy before and she was a total liability to herself and others around the second year stage.

Interesting timing for this thread for me. Ds1 is nearly 16. We let him have 2 cans last night. We may let him have 2 more over the course of this evening as we are having a bbq in the garden.

I dont want to encourage his drinking but am also acutely aware he would have some tins of beer with his friends if he was out with them this evening. He is really missing his mates and fed up of staying in so i dont see the harm.

I would not, and will never, suggest he drink, nor offer him, vodka.

dd1 will have one drink at home. Not vodka, I don't buy it, more likely cider, wine or the other day she had a very small gin and tonic (and hated it). But not getting drunk, and definetly not getting drunk with me.

getting drunk is seriously saddo anyway. For the MN hard of thinking, that's doesn't mean 'no alcohol', it means don't swill until you are in a state. if you can't have fun without being out of your skull, you are a bore and being a drunken bore is no better.

Katniss has good point, I understood drunk to mean evident you’ve had a few drinks, so giggly, talkative, boisterous. Not the throwing up, passing out or breaking/spilling things of someone who is too drunk.