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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think Emma Watson's parents were wrong to give her alcohol aged SEVEN?!

52 replies

doodlebug113 · 09/11/2010 12:41

tvnz.co.nz/entertainment-news/emma-watson-drank-wine-seven-3882601

She claims it gave her a mature attitude to alcohol and stopped her binge-drinking as a teenager, but I can't help thinking seven is FAR too young! It surely can't be good for her growing liver and digestive organs to be exposed to such toxins at such a young age?

OP posts:

exexpat · 09/11/2010 13:18

I let mine taste it if they ask (aged 8 and 12) but the response up to now has always been 'yuck', even to champagne. All the more for me . Think I also had tastes from a similar age, started going to pubs etc from about 15, but have rarely been seriously drunk. I tend to think forbidding it causes more problems.

SantasMooningArse · 09/11/2010 13:19

Thinking on to my elder two who are 9 and 10 now- tehy;ve never asked for their own drink but will on occasion ask for a sip of what we have; never more than a sip, usually they declare it nasty.

If at Christmas they asked for a v ery weak champagne spritzer they would get it. I've not told them that but if they did, yes I would.

OTOH DH's Mum was buying him vats of Scrumpy at 14 to learn how to handle it and whilst he is a very light drinker indeed now he certainly had an interesting teen lifestyle I wouldn;t want for my kids.

StEndillion · 09/11/2010 13:25

This is indeed a sad tale. I have never given alcohol to a minor and, re-reading this, I know now that I never could. If my dds turned out like Emma Watson, I would only have myself to blame. Look at the affect it had on her and her looks and her career, and her familial relationships... her poor, poor parents must feel awful. They cannot hold their heads high. They must take some of the blame for the tragic end to this course of action. Shame on them.

Bumpsadaisie · 09/11/2010 13:31

Shame on them. No wonder Emma is in such a terrible state these days.

YABU!

We didn't use to get our own glass but at that age I am sure our parents would give us a little sip at Sunday lunch if we asked to taste it. Result - my sister and I have normal and healthy attitudes to alcohol - i.e. we drank more than we should have as students but from then on, sensibly.

To my mind it's bonkers making kids wait till they turn 18 before they are even allowed a small beer or small glass of wine.

Chil1234 · 09/11/2010 13:31

(doodlebug113... consider yourself shot down)

Original poster

doodlebug113 · 09/11/2010 14:48

Still not convinced, sorry. I think letting a child try a sip of wine is different to giving them a glass with a meal, even if it is mixed with water. I feel seven is too young for this, maybe 10/11 would be more reasonable an age.

OP posts:

TrillianAstra · 09/11/2010 14:49

YABU I think.

WorkingItOutAsIGo · 09/11/2010 14:59

I think from memory her mother is French and this is perfectly normal in France.

DamselInDisgrace · 09/11/2010 15:00

Now I want to change my name to PerfectlyNormalInFrance.

Hulababy · 09/11/2010 15:10

DD is 8y and she has tried alcohol. Just sips such as champagne on special occasions or a taste of wine from my glass. I don't see it as a problem. She isn't drinking alcohol as such, just trying it. It is not illegal.

Hulababy · 09/11/2010 15:12

DD has her own tiny glass of fizz for special occasion toasts. It has less than a mouthful in which she will take very tiny sips of.

TorcherQueenie · 09/11/2010 15:12

YABU I had this from around the same age as a result I've never binge drank and I don't like drinking very much, to me its a waste of money. I was drunk 3 times during my teens

Dando · 09/11/2010 15:14

YABU we had watered down wine with meals from probably this age. Completely fine.

Incidently do not binge drink at all.

However, when I tried to do this with my dc, they tried it and pronounced it disgusting and won't touch.

It doesn't taste nice iirc. But I liked it because I felt like we were being taken seriously.

SuperSoph73 · 09/11/2010 15:30

My family sounds the same as a lot of families on here. We were allowed watered down wine with Sunday lunch from about the age of 10/11, and although it's a struggle to remember that far back I don't think my brother or I ever managed to finish the glass.

Our DS1 is 8 years old and has often asked "What's that you are drinking?" We tell him, ask him if he wants to have a sip and (so far) he wrinkles his nose up. He does have children's champagne at Christmas, which is a non-alcoholic drink but comes in a proper champagne bottle which you can get in supermarkets over here.

Deliaskis · 09/11/2010 16:04

YABU, a small glass of watered down wine occasionally is not going to cause harm. The irony is of course, that Ms Watson is one of the few celebs who have not been caught on camera falling drunk out of a nightclub etc. Because she just doesn't do that. Because she was taught a responsible attitude towards alcohol from an early age.

The toxins imbibed by teenagers regularly binge drinking vodka etc. at the age of 15 are far more likely to cause long term damage than the occasional glass of watered down wine.

Rollmops · 09/11/2010 16:50

My sister and I were allowed little wine mixed with water with dinner at about that age. Now't wrong with that, neither of us has ever had any problems with alcochol.
Took away the 'forbidden fruit' aura....

WorkingItOutAsIGo · 09/11/2010 17:12

DiD - - but I think that's a Friday night thread name...

JamieLeeCurtis · 09/11/2010 17:19

Well - I disagree with the concensus on here. It depends how it is done.

If my DCs were to ask I'd give them a sip. But when we see my ILs (who drink more that is healthy, every day) they seem very very keen for my DSs to try alcohol. I get the impression that their motivation is to almosr reassure themselves just how harmless alcohol is, rather than to educate my DCs in moderation.

I accept that is not always the case, though ...

JamieLeeCurtis · 09/11/2010 17:22

Btw - my ILs are not "alcoholics" (AFAIK), just live in an enviroment and have a social life that includes a lot of wine

WhyHavePets · 09/11/2010 17:27

YABU simply because, whatever the details, the approach clearly had a good effect. She is a well rounded individual who seems to have a great outlook on life. Not much there to complain about really.

Each to their own, judge not lest you be judged and all that!

classydiva · 09/11/2010 17:36

What a crock of shit. My son is 17 and I have never given him alcohol. His brother of 22 didn't drink any himself till he was 18.

Starting them off early asking for trouble.

sixpercenttruejedi · 09/11/2010 17:57

we had, weak shandy at bbqs,
wine with dinner on special occasions,
and a babycham on xmas eve.(though I suspect DM's motivation on that one)
Didn't do any harm.

JamieLeeCurtis · 09/11/2010 18:04

I had all that too, sixpercent (and others)

I did binge drink at weekends while at University, for a couple of years, but that was a blip. Basically I have a sensible attitude to alcohol. I drink socially, but much less than many of my friends, some of whom give their DCs alcohol

One person doesn't prove anything, either way

buttonmoon78 · 09/11/2010 18:11

Classydiva - I think the point here is that we're all being sensible over our dc's consumption of alcohol. I find your attitude a little offensive TBH as none of us (as far as I can see) are talking a crock of shit(e).

And I would also question whether your dcs really really had / have never had alcohol. I'm not saying they haven't just that they must be amongst the most unusual teens in society.

sixpercenttruejedi · 09/11/2010 18:11

Jamie -"One person doesn't prove anything, either way"
True, it would be a short thread if they did.

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