Buck’s Fizz and children

[Laura1192]

Can you help me settle a debate. At what age do you or would you let your child have a small glass of Bucks Fizz on Christmas Day?

I’m not a drinker and a glass of Buck’s Fizz on Christmas is the most I have so it seems crazy considering it to me, but my husband recalls drinking it very young.

I think i was about 8 or 9 when I was allowed a very orangey bucks fizz or a weak snowball at Christmas.

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If you made it with OJ and soda water, it would be alcohol free and I suspect they'd enjoy it just as much.

Made with fizzy lemonade even safer (except for their teeth) and they could have as much as they want."
Why is lemonade safer than soda water?

If ds really wanted one this year I'd probably let him, he's 13,will be 14 in April. The one thing that would put me off is it might seem unfair to our 11 year old. But at the moment neither of them seem bothered.

And there is absolutely no evidence to support the 'forbidden fruit' theory people seem to love so much.

I think every child born in the 1970s had a glass of babycham on Xmas day from about age 7. We loved it, thought it was a real treat. Also my grandmother used to give us what she called egg nogg at Xmas, which was advocaat and lemonade. She was tee total and I'm sure she had no idea it was alcoholic . My dd is 10 and there's no way id let a drop pass her lips, probably until she's a teenager. She was given non alcoholic prosecco at her friends 10th birthday party this year which I thought very odd

I thought this was going to be about the iconic 80s group.

Every Christmas my dad would give us a Shandy, I must have been about 6 or 7.
I can remember my older brothers stealing cans from my dad's Christmas carry out.

Urgh I remember my mum letting me have a sip of sherry and martini, I honestly didn't drink alcohol again until I was late teens, I thought it all tasted so bad! Now if she'd let me have bucks fizz I'd probably have turned into a child alcoholic 😂

We had it as kids from about 7. Was great. None of us turned out to be big drinkers in our teens.

Yes, to clarify the babycham was a tiny bottle. I think it had a reindeer on it, hence the Christmas link!

We always were given orange juice with lemonade in a champagne glass when we were young and I think I will continue that for my little boy. Still feels like you are involved but with less of the alcohol

We have teen dds aged 15 and 16 they will be offered a glass of Buck’s Fizz with brunch on Christmas Day (we make the juice with clementine and blood oranges, it’s really tasty and I highly recommend it!). I don’t really like it but they had some last year.
They have a beer or two at social family gatherings (so hardly at all this year) and have been offered this for the last 12-18 months (the older one).
Our 9 year old will not be offered anything alcoholic, I don’t see the point before then, he’s never asked, we will do the same for him as we did for his siblings, maybe be offered a try of a beer or something when he’s a teenager. It’s not a big deal here, last New Year’s Eve we had a family party and dd who was 15 had maybe 5 beers (corona with lime). Over the course of a 10 hour party with food!
I neither encourage or discourage it really.
I was given alcohol at a very young age! Cherry brandy from the age of about 6

We don't drink alcohol at all but I feel Bucks fizz is kind of traditional so we make our own fake Fizz with just orange juice and lemonade.

Probably 15 or 16 I'd say

16

Wow very surprising thread. Not having grown up in the UK . I honestly had no idea that UK parents give their 8+ year olds alcohol at Christmas 🥴

I don’t think my parents gave me any alcohol until I was about 14 and it would be half a glass of wine maybe at Sunday lunch. It wasn’t the forbidden fruit but I still got wasted as a teen and older.

In my circles it didn’t really matter if your parents were strict or not, we all got drunk whenever we could!

Mine are 12&9, I do think about alcohol differently and one con about having them young-ish is they’ve grown up me drinking (not alcoholic or anything) which now I’m older I maybe wouldn’t have done so regularly around them?

We will usually give them sparkling apple juice in a champagne glass for birthdays/Trump losing the election/Christmas but hasn’t occurred to me at all to let them have alcohol yet

My ds did at 6. Now nearly 15 and he has a beer Xmas eve. And a baileys or 2 Xmas day. Im also quite lenient if he's at a party and they want 1 drink with parents there. I'd sooner agree than him sneak in a park bench drinking
We never drink indoors or out in fact. As dh gets a hangover after 1 pint. And I prefer to drive. So only buy drink for guests at Xmas.

I used to about 7/8, I don’t drink very much at all now. I’d probably let the DC at about 10

Mine were never given alcohol at home as children, we are not drinkers so it never occurred to me. They sometimes have a drink now they are older (now 18 and 20), but has never been a "thing" in our family to have alcohol.

Can't understand why you would give your child alcohol.

13 maybe but I think I'd do half a glass then top up with more orange juice

It also wouldn’t be a proper Buck’s Fizz, a lot more orange juice, just a splash of champagne

Just saying to all those of you who say 16, you do know what goes on at 6th form parties don't you?

Not saying it's good, and I'd never drink in the morning and Buck's Fizz isn't to my taste but a glass at Christmas at 16??

@MarshmallowManiac

Can't understand why you would give your child alcohol.

This. What's even the point?

What is

Just dilute it with more OJ