Do you give your children alcohol?

[MamaMaiasaura]

here

I have given my ds watered down wine, very small amount. I have also let him sip champagne from my glass and aware his dad has let him have a sip of beer. Does anyone else do this? I know I probably risk being shot down n flames but I dont think it is particualary harmful to let him have a sip on special occasions. We drink very little here and I wouldnt let him have alcopops/spirits etc. When we on holiday in France they gave him watered down wine the the restuarant. I understand the article is probably aimed at parents to give their kids full strength drinks and alcopops but wondered if anyone else has allowed their dc to have a little bit of wine?

Theyve got plenty of time to experience drink when they're older. My mum let DD 2 years dip her finger in baileys and I told her off. DD might be curious but so? Would i let her put her finger in bleach? No. Doesn't mean it's taboo, just that its harmful and i know better than her at the moment and so won't let her near it until shes responsible enough to handle it.

Can't see the point in sips either, why not just give a nice non-alcoholic drink instead?

Nothing wrong with that Enid. perfectly reasonable.

But don't see what the fear about them tasting it is?

They see us drink at family meals/celebrations, meals out. I'm sure they will do the same when older. I can't see tasting it now or not will effect that much either way.

I think we're arguing about nothimng as both seem responsible to me. This legilation is aimed at the irresponsible who give 12yr olds litres of cider. But they seem to be taking a sleghammer to it.

I odn't see the problem in a sip - maybe mine are jsut a bit older.

After having lived in Italy, where kids are and have always been allowed wine in moderation but do not have the same drinking probs as we have here in the UK I beg to differ with Porcupine's statement that the 'on the continent' argument is 'a bag of shite'.

Any alcohol problems that are developing are not necessarily the result of being allowed to drink at home or not.

Kids have probably always drunk at home in moderation but youth alcoholism seems to be a recent problem along with increased drug-taking and self-harming .I would say the problem has more to do with alienation from society and has its roots in lack of community/disillusionment with modern life/ advertising/ life expectations etc

"Alcohol consumption in Western Europe is generally considered to be more moderate in nature ? daily, and with meals ? than it is in other countries such as the United States. New research indicates that this may be an "urban myth," and that drinking levels in Italy ? as measured by the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in Italian primary schools ? are just as high as they are in the new world.

Results are published in the September issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. "

We always offer to let dsc try our wine, champagne or beer. Most of the time they say no. I don't think it's a good thing to make it into a forbidden fruit. We were always allowed to have a sip of my parents' drinks when we were growing up...

Tell a child to tidy their room-They won't want to do it
Tell a child they can eat their veg-They won't do it
Tell a child you can't have something-They will want it.
It's basic truth that if you make something a secret they want it.
I talk to my Dc's about the dangers of all the usual things such as binge drinking and smoking.They know all the facts.
Recently discovered that my Ds's friend has been nabbing his older bro's porn from recycling bin.Sat down explained what porn was talked about how at 12 it is not a real view of sex etc.and that if he wanted to know about things to ask.Didn't tell him off or punish in any way for looking at it.It was our mistake not to explain why there was a limit on porn.
Small amounts of alchohol do not cause harm

we have allowed our boys to sip as a taste when they have been harassing us for 'daddys drink'. we knew they would HATE the taste of guinness and they did.

the curiousity is gone and they haven't asked again.

says it all really!

think the forbidden fruit arguement is rubbish sorry

some things are for kids some for adults. wheres the big?

Incidentally Dh is also from a West Indian background and never drinks, as his family rarely does....people from v hot countries rarely do....makes you too tired.

It's generally a problem of Northern Europe where young people copy their elders using alcohol as a form of escape from their problems.

Unfortunately there are a lot of parents who try to be down with the kids and think it's all fine and jolly when their fifteen-year-old is getting pissed and dabbling in soft drugs. It would be a shame if responsible parents, who know their job is to set boundaries and sometimes make themselves looks square and unpopular, were penalised because of the behaviour of the type of arrested-development parent who wouldn't know responsibility if it kicked them up the arse.

singingmum I disagree, when I ask my children to do something most of the time they do it, we are an AP family and always talk about things and why things have to be done etc. They understand that alcohol is for adults and show no interest in it whatsoever.

i dont agree that most adults use alcohol to get away from their problems.

Me and dh only drink socially (which is away from the children) or at family bbq's/parties etc, not to get trashed, but just as part of the evening as much as a meal is.

Unfortunately as usual those parents who see no problem in giving their 10 year old 2 litres of cider and sending them off down the park with their mates are ruining thinkgs for those of us more responsible parents.

Message withdrawn

Oh and also disagree that it's a "basic truth" by saying someone can't have something then they want it. My children don't pester me for things when they're told they can't have them, I explain why and that's the end of the asking. They also realise that they don't gain anything from pestering as I don't give in to it. We do discuss things though.

Well mine don't especially DS12 who has hit puberty with a bang.
Whats an AP family as have no idea sorry?
Children get influence from outside the home if the parent does not educate them no one will especially in our case as we HE.

attachment parenting, have you heard of that? I can do link if not

i believe that making alcohol a "forbidden" adults-only activity will only precipitate more curiosity and a more adverse attitude to alcohol in later life. Banning absolutely everything is only going to lead to rebellion later on.

My cousin is 16. She has been on a couple of nights out to the pub, and often has a bacardi breezer or similar on a weekend. Her upbringing has not been overly permissive, but I have yet to see her throwing up in the playground with the rest of the local teenagers.

Seeing your parents at home with a relaxed and sensible attitude to drinking can't be a bad thing, surely?

Didn't say that MOST people use it as a way of escaping problems in the UK, but from my experience, it's only here that I've encountered adults and young people talking about drinking to 'get trashed'.

In Italy, one drink would normally last all night and it was socially unacceptable there to be seen as drunk 10 years ago. However, things may very well be changing ...

i dont think talking to your kdis is onyl an AP family kind of thing to do
anywya i AP relevant past 5?

Oh sorry.Yes I've heard of it

But even always relying on alcohol as a social crutch when 'drinking socially' can be dangerous. I will try to raise dd (only 11 months)with dh's perhaps healthier West Indian attitude to socialising where gregariousness is not only a result of alcohol.

You can be outgoing and dry!

So sometimes you drink at parties and sometimes you don't...