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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think a friend shouldn 't give a sip of beer to get ds 8?

51 replies

FedupofTurkey · 01/02/2013 14:18

I was :0 at it. She said a bit won't harm, they do in france! Isn't she setting up problems for the future?

OP posts:

SPsFanjoIsAsComfyAsAOnesie · 01/02/2013 14:20

Yes after the sip he will become reliant and by 9 he will be sitting a bench with a Stella in a brown bag.

He will be swapping his packed lunch for minitures at the dodgy corner shop.

Joiningthegang · 01/02/2013 14:20

No she isnt
Yab very u

What harm could it possibly do?
What is your reasoning?

Trazzletoes · 01/02/2013 14:20

It's not illegal if she's at home. Did she force him to drink it? IME children think alcohol tastes foul anyway.

MsHighwater · 01/02/2013 14:21

Her DS or yours? A sip of beer is hardly likely to set him on the path to alcoholism (on its own).
As long as she isn't forcing it on him or letting him drink significant quantities of it, I see no real problem.

Bottleoffish · 01/02/2013 14:22

Talk about an over reaction, what harm can one sip do? Do you think he'll get a taste for it?

ZipItShrimpy · 01/02/2013 14:22

I sometimes let my 7yo DS have a swig of beer. It really won't set him up to be the local alcoholic swigging Veno's from a brown paper bag in 10 years.

UC · 01/02/2013 14:23

Yes, YABU. Don't be silly. It's a sip.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 01/02/2013 14:24

My dad used to let me have the odd sip of wine or beer when I was a kid. Am 41 now and so far am not a raging alcoholic.

She is right, it is very common in some countries in Europe and I think that probably the UK has worse stats on binge drinking than these other countries who seem to be a bit more sensible with the way they deal with alcohol.

wineandroses · 01/02/2013 14:25

YANBU, alcohol is for adults not children. The odd sip may not do him any harm, but he may like the taste and feel free to help himself to adults' drinks (dregs - yuck) when at parties etc. I think it is stupid to give small children alcohol, why would you?

StickEmWithThePointyEnd · 01/02/2013 14:26

My mum used to buy boxes of wine with a tap. My sister and I used to lie underneath the tap and drink the wine when mum wasn't around/looking. We never had a lot because it was horrible but it was a game we played regularly.

We also used to be allowed sips of dad's beer.

As adults I don't drink alcohol ever and have never been drunk. My sister drinks at parties but never at any other time. So yabu.

soaccidentprone · 01/02/2013 14:26

we have given both ds's sips of beer, wine etc.

ds1 is 17 and rarely drinks, ds2 is 11 just pulls a 'disgusting' face

you think letting a child have sip of something they invariably will think is gross is just storing up trouble for the future?

JiltedJohnsJulie · 01/02/2013 14:28

Both of mine have tried wine. Both hate it. Really can't see what your problem is,

docket · 01/02/2013 14:29

You are joking, surely?!

Andro · 01/02/2013 14:30

I think having a 'you will not drink in this house until you are 18' policy does far more harm than an odd sip of wine/beer under parental supervision.

spiritedaway · 01/02/2013 14:31

I think it probably depends on the manner it was done. . If it was all "look at him, just like his Dad! He'll be down the pub soon," then could unintentionally make the kids feel that is the way ahead to be accepted as a big man. If it was, it's not for kids and a glass would be bad for you, but if you want a taste go ahead, then YABU

feetheart · 01/02/2013 14:34

My DS (7) has had a sip of DH's beer once or twice and a sip of wine on occasion, as has DD (now 9) - each time they thought it was horrible.
DH and I don't drink much (have wine about once every few months, beer or cider a few times a month) and have very real experience of alcoholism in our immediate family. We have the view that taking any mystery out of alcohol is a Good Thing so that it isn't seen as some special, magic, forbidden, grown-up rite of passage.

If this was how your friend was treating it then YABU, if she was forcing it on him then that's another matter.

Minty82 · 01/02/2013 14:35

We used to have 'water wine' (ie very heavily diluted) at family dinners on special occasions from very young, and certainly were allowed to taste the odd sip of beer. I can see why, if you were teetotal yourself, you might have a problem with the idea of normalising alcohol for children, but if not it seems entirely sensible to present it as something to be enjoyed responsibly and in moderation, rather than making it into a taboo.

LegoAcupuncture · 01/02/2013 14:35

Have you alerted the authorities to this? You simply must!

Bluemonkeyspots · 01/02/2013 14:37

My parents were always fairly relaxed with alcohol.

We were never given nips of spirits but could have wine/beer/cider from a young age.

My siblings and I all like a drink but rarely are drunk rolling around the place, even as teens there was no need for us to rebel againsed our parents and we knew as long as we were sensible we would not get into trouble for drinking.

KenLeeeeeee · 01/02/2013 14:38

My 8yo ds had about a centimetre deep bit of champagne at New Year. He spat it out, declared it disgusting and said I must be a loon to enjoy drinking that.

YABU. We have such a silly attitude to alcohol in this country. No wonder there's such a problem with binge drinking when we act like booze is some mystical concoction.

Whydobabiescry · 01/02/2013 14:39

Sorry but YABU I allow my DS (8) to take a sip of beer or wine and every time without fail he pulls a face and says how disgusting it is - mind you he does that with coke as well! I think that you can create more problems by treating alcohol as something exotic and forbidden whereas if your children see you drinking responsibly and allow them a little taste the magic allure isn't there. I was always allowed and I loved to scoop the froth off my dads pint of Guinness as a child but I can't stand the stuff and hardy drink as an adult.

PoshCat · 01/02/2013 14:40

OP, you're having a laugh with us, surely???

NymphadoraTonks · 01/02/2013 14:42

ahahahaha

Oh my.

SoldeInvierno · 01/02/2013 14:43

YABU. I was always allowed a bit of beer or wine at home at that age with weekend meal. I grew up abroad and that was considered absolutely normal. So, when I was 18 I felt no desire to go and get absolutely legless just because I could. I think waiting until children are 18 to introduce them to alcohol is a big mistake and only promotes binge drinking.

hellsbellsmelons · 01/02/2013 14:46

Funny replies here.
I'm sure when I was about 4-5 I was sucking the froth off my dads beers?
It used to be our treat if my dad was having a beer.
Had to take in turns with my sister.
And yes, we are both full blown alcoholics today!

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