What age did you have your first taste of Alcohol?

[NotTodaySherry]

I was about 5! My mum let us have babycham on Christmas Eve and very weak "port and lemon" on Christmas Day as kids. I feel now that although this was very much of the era, it was wrong and it is possibly the reason all 4 of my siblings and I have been huge drinkers as adults.

AIBU to refuse to give my DD (15) any alcohol at Christmas. I managed to discourage my parents from trying to give her any all these years but now she is asking me herself to drink the little gin & tonic cans I bought for any visiting friends/family.

We had a bit of a heated discussion since her friends are apparently allowed to have these cans at home but ultimately, she accepted my reasoning - it made me wonder if I am doing the right thing? WHat are other parents doing?

I have friends who say they let their teenagers drink in their own home rather than out on the streets with strangers. I'd rather she waits as long as possible but I'm not a fool, I know it happens.

What age did you first drink? Are you a big drinker now? AIBU?

Maybe 13? The odd Bacardi Breezer at a friend's house who had a very relaxed mum. My mum was fuming when she found out.

Proper drinking til drunk, 15 I think. I have a medium relationship with alcohol - I rarely drink, but when I do I do often end up more drunk than I wanted to be.

My dad's an alcoholic, although he would never admit it, so I'm glad I don't like to drink very often.

5/6 I loved port!

Healthy relationship with alcohol, parents were never big drinkers.

Still love a heavy red, not had port in decades!

I don’t remember the very first time but from about 6/7 I was encouraged (yes) to help myself to pub measures of whatever I wanted. My alcoholic father ran a social club so when I was forced to visit him at weekends and school holidays, a large part of time was spent behind the bar. I was a big Martini Rosso at the age of 6/7!
First time I was served in a pub was when I was 12 - it wasn’t a case of “let’s put lots of make up on and pretend to be older”, but by that age it was “normal” to want alcohol. It was only afterwards that I realised the pub could have got in trouble.

My parents (who were basically functioning alcoholics) were big fans of the "European" approach and would encourage my sister and I to drink small amounts of alcohol at special occasions from about 10 and then would offer us wine with dinner from the age of about 14 on. it always had this very "civilised" veneer because it was good quality wine and came with a lecture about the grape and where it came from etc but it was still booze.

I'm not a fan. I think this "civilized/normalised" approach to it is basically a fig-leaf for normalising low-level alcoholism.

I'm not naïve and I'm sure the time will come when my DD will want to drink socially and I will supervise that but I think this "Europeanised" approach to encouraging children to drink with a meal or whatever often backfires. Normalising alcohol with every meal/every evening is not good and the fact that its a naice Chateauneuf du pape as opposed to a Special Brew doesn't change that.

My parents were part of the dunk the babies dummy in some whisky to help them sleep gang so probably before I was 12 months!

There's a photo of me at my christening (8 months old), face in my uncles pint while my auntie is smoking a cigarette with me on her lap.

80s.

4 or 5 I was allowed sips of my dad's Newcastle Brown
But I was brought up around v little drinking

Had sips from very young but never allowed my own drink. I was drinking with friends from 14. At 15 I’d allow something weak at home on special occasions.

I drank wine diluted with lemonade most Sundays from a very young age (?5) and remember having a sip of mum's Sherry / Dad's whisky even younger.
I am not a big drinker as an adult (never have been) and never felt the need to experiment with alcohol as a teenager as I'd always been allowed it.
A different experience to yours.

Ds(18) made cocktails tonight, and I let ds(14) have a weak one. Prior to that he hasn’t been interested, maybe tried the odd sip once or twice. I was allowed the odd drink from teens up.. probably a sip from younger. I had an odd relationship with alcohol in my mid - late twenties, I was married to a drinker which really skewed my idea of normal. Now late 30’s and only a very light drinker.
Those G&T cans are only about a unit anyway (less than a standard glass of wine) so probably a good option if you did agree to let her try something.

Around 4 or 5. My parents belonged to an Anglo-Hellenic society in Cardiff, and always took us all to the socials. If we got tired, we were put to sleep under a table, snuggled up in a pile of coats!

I loved the food, and the dancing. I remember being given watered down wine.

I was also allowed to have a little wine with restaurant meals when I was around 9, and used to pour myself an occasional glass of cider when I cam home form school. I never saw either of my parents drunk, - it was very much a culture of alcohol as something to enjoy, rather than drinking to get drunk. I am a very moderate social drinker - can go months without it, so I don't think it had a bad effect.

7 or 8 when a friend and I found her dad's gin and drank it.

When I was 11 or 12 I'd be allowed a martini and lemonade at xmas or if we were on holiday.

I was a binge drinker for years from the age of 14/15. It was just what we did at my school.

Finally grew out of it age 30ish!

Now not really fussed about booze at all.

First taste? Don't remember. But Dad made home brew cocktails and I remember getting completely rat-arsed on holiday at the age of ten.

Sounds really bad. But alchol was a holiday-only thing and we didn't ever even see alcohol apart from on high days and holidays. I grew up not really drinking, hating getting drunk and just have the one every now and again. And I hate gin/vodka/rum and wine.

Our teen DD's have been allowed a small cider with a meal on a Sunday or Christmas day/birthdays. That way alcohol is not taboo or exciting.

20yo dd has also grown up not really caring about alcohol and only having the odd drink every now and again socially. DD2 is 16. She'll usually opt for a soft drink if given the choice.

That may change but I'll take it as a win - especially as DH's dad was an alcoholic so we've been very aware of people's differing attitudes to alcohol.

I remember being about 13 and having a small drop of baileys. I'm not much of a drinker at all, in fact before this evening I hadn't touched a drop for several years - I just fancied a baileys hot chocolate!

DS1 is 17. We've let him have the odd bottle of cider for about the last 9 months - at BBQ's etc. I've bought him a 4 pack for Christmas that's got to last him the Christmas/NY period

About 3, but no one noticed me drinking the dregs at a party 😂. Actually allowed was more like 13, with the weakest snowball at Christmas you ever did see. At 15 I was allowed a Bacardi Breezer at family gatherings. Definitely nothing stronger. Never been so drunk I don't know what I'm doing and I certainly haven't got a drink problem. Don't know why people try and stop their teens from drinking. They're going to do it anyway!

Probably when I was old enough to snag a sip out of someone elses glass, 2 maybe?

We were allowed to try whatever (but our parents didn't really drink anything particularly sweet so 'whatever' would be wine, bitter, gin and tonic, scotch), all of which I found revolting and so the novelty wore off really fast.

My sister would swipe wine or bitter, more to prove parents wrong that she DID like it REALLY SHE DID.... but again, a sip here and there.

Neither of us really drink now (39 and 40), we both had a phase of drinking around 17 - 19 ish and then stopped. We were never interested in the major binge drinking our peer group did between more like 14 and 25 though.

Re your 15 to.

One I'm your house with you Vs her getting a mate to buy them and drinking several in who knows what situation.

I'd let her have one or two (over an evening, with foods) so it takes the novelty off

Don't know why people try and stop their teens from drinking. They're going to do it anyway!

I agree with points made about introducing alcohol in a "healthier" environment, but I don't think this is true or good enough if I'm honest. There are many things teens "may do anyway" but I don't think that's enough of a reason to say "have at it", there's still a duty of care there.

(not suggesting you've said this or trying to have a go by any means, I just don't like this idea that "they'll do it anyway" as it seems to waive parental responsibility to teach children about the risks of alcohol)

Meant to say - we were allowed to drink full drinks at around 12 onwards, but that would be wine or beer watered down with lemonade, really weak stubby bottles of beer, cider shandy, that sort of thing.

I think we weren't interested in alcohol by the time our peers were buying booze under age or getting older siblings to buy it as it just wasn't a big deal, the novelty was long gone by then!

About the same. Snowballs with nana on new years eve.

Very young. I'd guess as a toddler or if my grandad was involved then as a baby. He used to dip the bottles in whisky

I don’t know but roughly 4 or 5..... 1 part wine to 9 parts lemonade. Also a few sips here and there of the drinks that adults were having.

Caused no issues for me or my sibling, neither drink very much really. But of course it will impact on everyone differently.

Dd is 5 and has a sip to try what we have sometimes.

1. I drank a miniature that was within reach.

I have on occasion been a binge drinker. I have cut down though as part of a healthier lifestyle.

I was allowed watered down wine with meals at 15 ( now and again). I have never been a big drinker.

Mid to late primary school. I was allowed to try watered down wine at Christmas and I didn't like it.

I drank in my late teens and early 20s, but not regularly or in excess. Now I'd be lucky to drink a handful of times a yea rand I'm considering going teetotal