Why do some parents over react so much about underage drinking

[doggylover2]

So I've seen a lot of parents freaking out about underage drinking. Now I understand That if your teen is drinking vodka from the bottle that's not ok (mine knows that she can do that so long as she's willing to be murdered by me when I find out) but some parents have said something like a 17 year old having a glass of wine with a meal is no different to heroin. I have a few things wrong with that

1. it's alcohol which they can drink in a years time at 17. You probably drink alcohol.'
2. heroin is a highly dangerous, highly illegal drug which is dangerous in any dosage alcohol is only dangerous if you aren't sensible with it
3. it's with a meal and it's probably adult supervised so it's not like a bottle of vodka On a empty stomach on a street corner
4. when have you walked into a supermarket and seen heroin have its own isle.

I am fairly lax with my 15 year old drinking. She knows she's allowed a drink every so often BUT if she starts slacking in school then she won't have a drink with my permission until she's 18. By the way I give her something like a glass of prosecco not a G&T.
Alcohol is dangerous in large amounts yes but in small amounts it's very unlikely to do serious harm. And it's not like she gets it every week 2 times a month would be heavily exaggerating. Also one last time ITS NOT HEROIN!!!!!!!

Because it’s illegal and children do not need alcohol. My understanding is that parents “introducing” alcohol to promote sensible attitudes to drinking has been proven to be a myth.

I’ve had problems with drinking that I’m now resolving but I’ll not be encouraging my kids to drink. Advice in Scotland now is that children should have an alcohol free childhood.

Oh and no it’s not heroin but it is an addictive substance just the same. The fact it’s acailable in supermarkets isn’t evidence that it’s not harmful but it’s because of the socialisation and normalisation of alcohol in our society.

Give your kid booze if you like but don’t make out people who don’t are overreacting.

But it's NOT illegal for a teenager to drink alcohol in the UK. It's illegal to sell alcohol to under 18s, and to purchase alcohol specifically for a minor, but not for them to drink the stuff themselves.

16/17yos can drink beer, wine and cider with a meal IF the premises licensing rules allow it. They can't buy it themselves though.

The PP who mentioned age 21y I assume is in a country where the law is 21, such as the US.

No it’s not illegal for them to drink it per se but given the OP about parents overreacting it would tend to suggest that those parents aren’t giving an odd half glass of fizz but they are concerned about knocking back cider on street corners.

www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/childrens-health/should-my-child-drink-alcohol/

NHS guidance

With one at the older end of the teens, who has had sensible hiome drinking influence, has ended up in all night sick street tent helping teens suffering achoholism. These rents are busy all night with kids vomitting passing out, bei ng carted off to hospital. I am sorry to say it but its a pile of crap that they didn't drink til they were 18! The majority, ime, allow their DC to drink sensibly at home from like 14, a small glass with dinner at Christmas type start. Also the hospital s fill every year with uni fresher's off their faces, and dying of alcoholism. Know of one last week had to be hooked up to life-saving gear in resus as he was fitting! He wasn't denied alcohol at home and only now suddenly like sweeties in a sweety shop.
Alcohol is now a massive problem for NHS and police, with no underage drinking there would be significantly savings in NHS and police. Have recently happened across a girl splayed across the pavement, having clearly vomitted and completely wankered.

I'm just not having it that these are all because they never drank at home.

Research is now showing any alcohol is harmful to growing child/young adults liver, brain and general well being. It removes natural safety mechanisms making kids vulnerable to all sorts.

I rethinking it all, as I think it's totally unnecessary to give under 18s alcohol, and attitudes toward its harm and vulnerability inducing effects need to change. It's social oil and I think we need to learn to cope without it until 18. Our laws allow under age drinking.

Give your kid booze if you like but don’t make out people who don’t are overreacting

Yes this

Give your kid booze if you like but don’t make out people who don’t are overreacting

This ^

1. I've never heard anyone comparing having a glass of wine with a meal, being compared to injecting heroin
2. Why do you feel the need to normalise a 15 yr old drinking ?

You start your OP by talking about a 17 yr old having a glass of wine with a meal, then later say you often let you 15 yr old drink at home.
There's a HUGE difference between a 15 yr old and a 17 yr old

We all make different parenting choices throughout their lives. Just because someone makes a different choice from yourself, doesn't mean they are over reacting though.

Ime there are more parents around who underreact to teen drinking. As probably anyone working on an A & E ward would agree. The serious accidents/alcohol poisonings my dc have witnessed have not happened in some mythical dangerous outdoor setting ("they'll all do it in the street"): they have happened in ordinary homes, at parties sanctioned by the parents of the host, and as often as not, the person who has sorted out the shit/rang the ambulance/tried to get hold of the parent has been another teen.

Of course it is still the fault of the teen who consumed the alcohol, don't get me wrong on that one, but it has hardly been the result of hysterically teetotal parents.

You have no idea of whether these parents have a family history of alcoholism, or have had bad drink related experiences themselves.

They might have very good reasons to “freak out” about underage drinking.

And this whole “relaxed attitude towards drinking = equals sensible self limiting drinkers later on is a fallacy.

There were several kids at my school whose parents were relaxed about drinking who ended up with their stomachs pumped out later on.

There were also kids whose parents were strict about alcohol whose kids have only had an occasional drink.

Make decisions for your own kids but other people’s family rules are not your business.

Because some posters on mn are so high strung they can barely open their front door to the postman or their own family, so imagine this as the bar for anxiety when they recoil at the idea of a 16 year old having a glass of wine with dinner.

No risk is the only acceptable risk, apparently.

Oh fuck off desecrated. Not wanting to give a child a non essential but toxic substance is not being “highly strung”. I’m as lax a parent as they come but there’s no need for children to drink alcohol. Following government guidance is not “highly strung”.

Yes, it's a non essential toxic substance - just like ham.

By that definition. Obviously addiction is a problem but not with a glass of wine with dinner.

How do you think addiction starts? People on park benches swigging litres of cheap vodka didn’t start that way. I myself started with small glasses of sweet wine at dinner etc. My parents aren’t alcoholics but always had beer/wine etc so it was normalised. I didn’t reach park bench depths but I still ended up with a bit of a drink problem even though I only started with a drink of wine with dinner. Problem drinkers all started off as non problem drinkers.

If you can show me the government or nhs guidance that says children should have a ham free childhood though I’ll accept you have a point.

My parents were completely laid back about alcohol. I could drink when I wanted. I’m tea total now.

Because alcohol is a drug and you have no way of knowing how your child will react to it. And if you normalise drinking at 15 chances are good you are paving the way for any sort of drinking to be seen as normal later on. As a recovering alcoholic this was certainly the case for me. There is no way I will do that with my kids. Some people don't have the addictive gene but as a society this is something that society struggles with so why risk it?