In the late 80's at the age of 7 being "allowed" a tot of red wine in a sherry glass with Sunday dinners, as though it was a treat. I remember being made to feel very grown up by my parents, especially my dm who told me "it's what the French do", she thought she was being rather posh. My brother who was 3 years older than me was allowed an actual wine glass with more than me, though once I was 10/11 I was given the same!
My grandma used to have a splash of scotch in her tea time cup of tea, so when we were at her house or she was visiting us, my dm would have the same. Around the same age as the wine, so 7/8, I was allowed to have a cup of tea with whiskey in too! Dm always said it warmed us up...
I remember at the same sort of age, a Saturday night when my parents had friends over for dinner. I was feeling really envious that my brother was allowed to stay up with them and have some whiskey, but I had to go to bed. I sneaked downstairs and poured myself half a glass of whiskey, having no idea what it was really! It was horrible and burnt my throat but I drank it, thinking I was missing out and it was unfair my brother was given some! I basically got very drunk and sick from it, the bedroom started spinning when I was back upstairs and I was scared, so I stumbled back down the stairs to tell my dm. My parents and their friends thought it was hilarious and I was given water then sent back to bed, dm giving me a bowl at the side of my bed in case I was sick!
There was also the dunking of the dummy in whisky, parents smoking all around the house and in the car, no seatbelts and squashing 4 friends in the back seat, 2 in the boot.
My dm got a cleaner in one morning a week (despite being a stay at home mum and my gran coming round one day a week to help with cleaning, ironing, gardening and looking after me and my brother). I remember in the holidays the cleaning lady would look after us while dm went clothes shopping, I'd sit on her knee and she'd smoke. Dm would come home and not bat an eyelid.
Smacking, shouting, verbal abuse from dm, my df mostly left the parenting to her, which she always complained about. Unless it was a Saturday afternoon and he'd look after us while she went shopping again for a break from us. Or he'd take us out somewhere to give her some time away from us!
Being taken to an adult party on a Saturday night, I was definitely under the age of 9, my parents and their friends were all drunk and smoking. It was the summer holidays and the party host was a teacher at a small local private school. He and his wife had the keys to the swimming pool somehow and invited their friends for a pool party! I remember being really scared by the drunk adults, not knowing if a play fight was actually a play fight like my parents told me it was. One man took off all his clothes and went skinny dipping, no attempt to hide anything from me so I got a full view of him naked, everyone laughed at how funny it was and how petrified I looked. Then dm drink driving us home afterwards.
She was and still is emotionally abusive and we have a very fractured relationship, but that's a whole other story!