To wonder about the age you give your kids alcohol?

[MatersMate]

so, this started with my Auntie and Uncle saying when you're 14 you cna have an alcoholic drink with a meal in a pub. Then we got talking about how old we were when we had our first glass of alcohol, my feckless Dad gave me homebrewed wine aged 8 and I was sick as a dog. Anyone have any under age drinkers?

I think I was five. we had a tiny bit of wine with lemonade at Sunday lunch with the adults. I have a perfectly acceptable relationship with alcohol now and have never drink binged, not even as a student

Hmm,, yes, that's a fascinating question Mater, my kids are 5 and 2, and have never had alcohol, but I have a friend who doens't mind her 6 year old having a glass of beer with dinner on a Sunday!?

I used to have a small sherry glass of Brown ale (guess where I live lol) with my dad from about 8 about once a week as a treat lol.

If I was good

Even now I don't drink much but I will have a small drink (usually one!) to celebrate good days or weeks

Exactly the same as superbagpuss - not my sister are you.

Amount of alcohol probably worked out to be 1:100

French kids drink wine with dinner from about 5 don't they?

totally depends on your family. Mine barely drink, my parents never 'gave' me alcohol because it wasn't ever around when I was a child. THey do drink, but more with friends and not at family occasions.

DP's family love a good boozey party and he had beer at 12.

I would prefer to be like my family to be honest. I hate drunk adults around kids at DP's family parties!

I think it's about developing a healthy relationship with things and depends.entirely on the adults around and their intentions.

don't think it's.aautomatically a bad thing.

Fuck me my autocorrect is pissed

I think that pub rule is 16, not 14.

Mine have had tiny sips of something I'm drinking, only about one time each though, (we don't drink much) they are 7, 6 and 4.

Proper drinks, in their own glass, I don't know, 14/15/16?

I heard a manager from a big pub chain talking on the radio once, he said that back in his day (and mine) landlords would just turn a bit of a blind eye to underage drinkers in pubs, as long as they behaved themselves. Now landlords don't dare do this because they'll lose their licence and so teenagers drink out on street corners with no constraints on how they behave, better in the old days when they were inside a pub with a blind eye turned.

I know he has his own agenda but I completely agree with him on this.

I allowed my children alcohol from a very early age, just a sip or a bit with water or lemonade, maybe about 4 or 5 they are 18 and 20 now and neither of them are big drinkers, they both like a drink but it is never a big thing, also neither of them went out with the fake ID's like a lot of teenagers did they both waited until their 18th to take to the clubs and pubs with their friends. Just be sensible with alcohol and it will be forever your friend!

same as superbagpuss and treas - at christmas and special events we'd have either wine with lemonade, or babycham

over the years it got slightly stronger and worked for me

DD is 6 and at christmas we gave her her first drink of it too - she was excited as a novelty but there was less than 20ml in a glass of 'bubbly water' we will continue as we both grew up this way, we both have good attitudes to alchohol and have never binged

You have to be 16 to drink alcohol with a meal in a pub, but we have yet to find a pub that will let a 16 year old do that. All the big chains say it is company policy to restrict alcohol to 18 year olds even with a meal.

DS1 had his first vodka and OJ when he was 18months. This was due to a mixup with the round rather than any conscious decision to start him young. Felt very guilty afterwards, but he was fine.

I was brought up with alcohol being at every celebration, not always in a good way, and must admit to drinking in the summer in front of the kids, I do worry I'm going to influence them to think you need alcohol to have a good time.

Mum had to give my friends parents permission for me to have wine when I went on holiday with them aged 13, I had never had anything like it before. Apart from the odd sip all small children seem to ask for to try it I wouldn't give any before about age 12.

Continental mix family. Dd is nearly 8 and had a thimble sized glass of champagne at Christmas and is allowed a sip from wine or beer on special occasions. DS who is 3 likes to dip his finger in his dads beer on special days too. Tbh thats the only time we really drink anyway, birthdays/Christmas or at parties. Once dd hits 8 she MAY be allowed a very watered down and small glass of wine when we have some, so about once every 3 months! :)

Same as others - I can't remember how old exactly, but I was definitely a child when I had ridiculously watered down wine at Christmas dinner, to make me feel grown up. From about the age of 14 my parents let me chose an alcoholic drink that I could keep at home and have on a Friday/Saturday night, I chose Malibu because I'm classy, me and I had a teeny sherry glass of it once a week. But overall I think it has encouraged me to have a healthy relationship with alcohol, I never saw it as utterly forbidden as a teenager. DC is far too young to think about it yet but I imagine at 7,6 I'll let them have a taste and then in their teens they can have shandy or spritzers.

I let my Nephew and little sister, who were 11 and 12 at the time, try wine and pimms at my brothers wedding. They hated the wine and the pimms.

Why would you give a child alcohol? I genuinely can't see why you'd need or want to.

Dh's parents have never touched a drop of alcohol, my mum has been almost constantly drunk since I was a child. So you would think that he'd have been curious and I'd have been put off... not the case, he hardly ever drinks, while I have have poor self control around booze.

I hope my children take after DH, I will not be encouraging them to drink.

Of course there is no need to give a child alcohol. But if they express an interest in trying it, it's far more healthy to let them try and teeny, tiny weak amount rather than making it something that is absolutely forbidden. If alcohol is the 'forbidden fruit', when they are 14 and a friend smuggles a bottle of vodka to a party, they might be more tempted to go OTT.

DS is 6 and he has tried a sip of what we are drinking - hasn't liked beer, gin & tonic or wine and has no desire to try again:)

Ds tried beer at 4 and hated it, Dd tried a tiny sip at 2 and wanted more,think she's going to be like me (not a good thing!)

I started on weak martini & lemonade age 14
Moved on to pints of cider at uni
Moved on to wine & gin after kids

French family and yes I was allowed to taste wine from an early age (5/6), it definitely helped me to mature my palate, and has not turned me into a booze hound as yet. My little brother wasn't allowed to try any alcohol when younger (mum felt pressured by negative reactions to us having a taste) and he is the only one to have ended up actually hospitalised as a result of binge drinking. Obviously this may all be coincidental but I think my mum teaching me to enjoy and understand wines has taught me to savour my small glass when I have it, not chug down jugs of fruity cocktails that disguise the taste of the alcohol in them!