14 year old has asked if he can have a drink?

[Pollydollydoodle]

Just this ^ he's asked if he could have one drink with the bells. I said no, but now thinking in the safety of family maybe it would be ok. Views? And what would you offer?
If we lived in Europe I know this wouldn't even be an issue!

I know new year has passed but I am firmly camp no. I never did..my now adult children don't drink.

If she’s tipsy that isn’t on.

Even at 14 one small drink shouldn’t make you tipsy, so she’s had more than that.

We let our 10 year old have very, very watered down wine on special occasions but he knows alcohol is ONLY after you've already eaten a decent amount so he has to eat first then can have a taste. We tell him that drinking on an empty stomach will make him very sick and dizzy, so teaching him now how to drink responsibly as no one bothered to teach us about it when we were kids.

This

I also suspect the sport is keeping my Foster son from even wanting to have any alcohol at 17. I offered him some Prosecco on Xmas day. He said no, alcohol reduces reaction times. He plays sport at a high level and it is very competitive. He's been watching what he eats chocolate wise too. I love sport.

Why is this always used as justification for letting teens do harmful things in the home? I’m not bloody stupid. I’m a parent, I taught teenagers for years and I still work with them. I have a pretty good idea how their brains work after all this time. Of course they will drink outside the home if they’re determined to, just as they’ll take drugs or vape. None of it means I’m going to condone it in the home and not set boundaries here. I’ve got a really good relationship with my kids and just because I won’t be giving them booze any time soon, it doesn’t mean they can’t talk to me or would feel they couldn’t phone me in an emergency if they’d got themselves in a situation over their heads. They absolutely know they will be supported if that ever happened.

And you really need to read some of the research that’s been shared on this thread - letting them have a bit at home doesn’t actually establish healthy drinking habits.

I also have French friends and spend a lot of holidays with them, and from what I’ve seen the “French children have watered down wine with meals” is largely a myth. They drink water, and French parents are very strict about alcohol at home and think that Brits are weirdly permissive.

Totally this. Unclench OP.

You're promotinv alcohol to a ten year old.

Dress it up anyway you want but you are actively promoting alcohol to a child.

But they are less likely to.

If you want to increase the likelihood of your child drinking, give them alcohol at home.

The context is the UK has a widespread problem drinking culture, many parents are drinkers who were introduced to alcohol by their own parents, and they are simply passing on the drinking culture.

My 13 year old made herself a pink gin and lemonade last night. I was pretty shocked that A) she did this, B) she liked it and C) she told me.