Your kids drinking

Rather than take another topic off its main subject I thought I would post a new thread here to seee what people think.

I have 3 kids 2 daughters (12 & 8) and a son (4) and I always allow them to try what ever I am drinking as I dont want them to hit 18 and go nuts!

My son hates it all but will still always try (some of his expressions are awesome - I should take pictures!) eldest daughter only likes sweet drinks but seems to have no idea about the flabour, just the sweetness and my 8 year old seems to love everything I make/buy! - may have trouble with her in the future....

Now I am not saying I let them get pi$$ed just a sip or 2 (from each glass if the 8 year old gets her way...)

I personally feel that this is responsible parenting as if I banned it completely I feel that it would just make tham want to go out and be stupid as soon as they get chance!

I was able to drink when I was young and I dont think it did me any harm!

Opinions please.

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Mine always like to sample. They try most things red wine, port, stout, cider even the barley wine. They have even on the odd occasion sniffed a malt whisky but I think that is enough to put them off for life.

I was always brought up to try my dads beer and wine so why not my kids. I think it teaches them to respect alcohol better. I will never forget a university on the first night in halls a lad being carried out at 6 pm just as everyone else was turning up. He had led a sheltered life and just went mad as soon as he left home. He ended up in a bad way in the end dropping out of university and getting into everything that gave him a buzz.

According to the **** pile sorry government

Sensible drinking - guidance from England's Chief Medical Officer (CMO)

Parents and carers are advised that an alcohol-free childhood is the healthiest and best option. However, if young people do drink alcohol, the CMO has issued the following guidance:

young people should not drink at all until they are at least 15 years old
if young people aged 15 to 17 years drink alcohol, it should always be under the supervision of a parent or carer
if 15 to 17 year olds do drink it should not be often – certainly no more than one day a week
15 to 17 year olds should never drink more than the recommended daily limit for adults

Encouraging a healthy attitude towards alcohol

As children grow up, their attitude towards alcohol will be shaped by what they see, hear and experience at home. The following tips might help your child develop a healthy attitude to alcohol.
What parents of younger children can do

if your child is curious about alcohol, talk to them about it - tell them about both the negative and social sides of drinking
make sure children don't drink alcohol by accident or without your permission - if you have alcohol at home, keep it out of reach
if you drink, set a good example and drink in moderation - it will help your child develop a sensible attitude to alcohol
respect the law regarding young people and alcohol - don't buy alcohol for your child if they are underage

What parents of older children can do

It's difficult to know when to let teenagers drink as there is no 'right' age. If your child has started drinking however, these tips will help them learn to drink safely:

set clear boundaries for your child and be consistent about them
encourage your child to stick to lower-strength brands and not to drink too quickly
try not to overreact if your child drinks against your wishes, or drinks too much
if your child has drunk excessively, explain how you feel and encourage them to talk about why it happened
agree rules on alcohol at parties and be around if your child has a party at home
if your child is going to drink, give them starchy food (like bread or pasta) so they won't be drinking on an empty stomach
remove temptations at home like your own stock of drink (especially spirits)
make sure your child has a way of getting home safely at night

and its something we all do isn't it, and have always done isn't it.

Wow! That really does show a massive lack of understanding by the CMO!

I'm reading a brilliant book at the moment, "French Kids Eat Everything", and it really highlights the fundamental differences in culture between France where they drink freely, eat what they want including tons of cheese, red meat, oils and fat and still remain singularly the most healthy nation in the developed world. Binge drinking just doesn't exist...

How?

Simply, purely and simply, because they are taught, from as soon as they have the capacity to learn, that gastronomie is the most important thing in their lives. They learn what good food is, they learn to eat everything (from weird veggies that I've never heard of to smelly reblochon cheese, from snails to catfish) and appreciate how even something as simple as white bread should be so much more than our frankly awful sliced white sandwich loaf - compare that to a freshly baked baton or flute from the boulangerie. They eat what their parents eat, and soon enough, drink (to a lesser volume, of course) what their parents drink.

In short, French kids learn to love and respect both their food and their drink from pretty much the moment they are weaned.

French kids get taught. Then get trusted. Ours get fed. Then get ******.

SWMBO and I have decided that, as soon as we're in the new house, the process of re-engaging with real food and real drink (oh yes, wine production starts soon too!), growing veggies, making ketchup from homegrown tomatoes, foraging, jam making, pickling and preserving, baking and the odd whirl at cordon-bleu cookery starts.

Little 'un is coming along for the ride and will be involved in all of it and if we can give her that kind of love and respect for food and drink, I'm entirely sure that it will remove her from the chains of comoditised food marketing and bad alcohol. I can't change British society but I can change my behaviour and shape that of my daughter (and any more that follow her...).

Wish me luck... :lol:

All the luck in the World.

We do our bit along those lines, very rarely if ever there is a takeaway or ready meal brought into the house my wife and life long friend cooks ( and washes ) everything, even to home made pizza's. We collect hedgerow fruits in season and make pies for the whole year Poultry carcasses are made into stocks for the freezer She makes little meat pies from duck rabbit pheasant pigeon etc etc. Life just don't get any better.

When looking for a wife remember the old question.... Can she cook a roast beef and yorkshire pudding for 6 at short notice ?
and kissing don't last..... cooking do.

But we should also remember the law:

http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/children-an ... tAodnlub9w

Under fives are allowed no alcohol whatsoever, except under the supervision of a medical practitioner in the case of an acute injury (maybe).
Between 5 and 16, children are allowed to drink in the home or other private premises.
Between 16 and 18, children are allowed to be bought beer, cider or wine for consumption with a meal, by an adult who is eating with them. They cannot drink spirits.
It is illegal to buy alcohol on behalf of someone under 18 (the distinction between "on behalf of" and "for consumption by" should be noted).

Oh, and to further answer the OP... I think young youngsters tasting and apreciating craft beer, wine and cider is correct. I would suggest that "having a drink", their own glass of beer if you like, will wait until they are mentally mature enough to see it as an "adult" thing to do and afford it the respect it deserves. So that would be around the age of 38 for a lot of people I see in the towns on a Friday night but with the right coaching through early childhood I would guess somewhere between 12 and 16...

piddledribble said:

All the luck in the World.

We do our bit along those lines, very rarely if ever there is a takeaway or ready meal brought into the house my wife and life long friend cooks ( and washes ) everything, even to home made pizza's. We collect hedgerow fruits in season and make pies for the whole year Poultry carcasses are made into stocks for the freezer She makes little meat pies from duck rabbit pheasant pigeon etc etc. Life just don't get any better.

When looking for a wife remember the old question.... Can she cook a roast beef and yorkshire pudding for 6 at short notice ?
and kissing don't last..... cooking do.

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Talk about landing on yer feet! All that and she lets you make beer too!!! :thumb: :thumb:

That's the kind of thing that encourages interest in and learning of the diversity of truly good things and that kind of interest is what breeds respect for it. We need SO much more of that in this country...

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calumscott said:

I would suggest that "having a drink", their own glass of beer if you like

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I have seen 1/3 pint glasses and have been very tempted more than once...

My beers never seem very strong so one day (soonish) I think it could well happen :)

The only problem being she can be a bit clumsy and has a habbit of knocking her drinks over, not a problem with water/squash/juice but I think I would feel differently if it were my beer :shock:

I would also like to point out that my boy only usually gets as far as poking his toung in the glass

BrotherMalice said:

I would also like to point out that my boy only usually gets as far as poking his toung in the glass

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Lovely...

...and does little boy spit improve the flavour of your pint? :rofl:

Started to read the advice from the Chief Medical Officer ...... didn't bother to read much more than the first sentence or two

We have always allowed our two a small taste of wine, beer, cider or champagne whenever we were having some, mainly with a meal. This probably started when they were 8 years old or therabouts, note the comment small taste, if it was wine, particularly a strong tasting red, a little water was added.
We never gave them spirits at all, by the time they were into their early teens they were still only allowed wine etc with a meal. By the time they were both 18 they had a knowledge of different drinks and were very rarely 'worse for wear', yes they occasionally had a couple too many but never recall seeing either of them paralytic.

Compare this with our ex neighbour who wouldn't allow any alcohol in the house, she was totally against it being in the home :nono: the eldest went to uni and was chucked out for various incidents which happened when he was drunk, the daughter stayed at home and was a real problem from when she was 18, all the problems were drink related, she was frequently drunk in the afternoon and gave her mother hell, finally mother chucked her out and the daughter was dead within 6 months, cocktail of drink and drugs.

Two very different households with their attitudes towards alcohol and two very different outcomes.

calumscott said:

BrotherMalice said:

I would also like to point out that my boy only usually gets as far as poking his toung in the glass

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Lovely...

...and does little boy spit improve the flavour of your pint? :rofl:

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I really must ask the wife, I never share my glass with him :P

BrotherMalice said:

calumscott said:

BrotherMalice said:

I would also like to point out that my boy only usually gets as far as poking his toung in the glass

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Lovely...

...and does little boy spit improve the flavour of your pint? :rofl:

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I really must ask the wife, I never share my glass with him :P

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:rofl: :thumb:

My kids don't want to try it they are 10 & 12. My eldest did an alcohol awareness workshop at school and they said anyone who wanted didn't want to try some of the WKD could go and sit back down and he was the only one. Of course none of them did get to try the WKD and several others said they would have sat down but for peer pressure. He got a Mars bar as a reward :thumb:

Personally I was brought up in an environment where I was allowed a half glass of wine with a meal from the age of about 13, I was taught that alcohol was to be taken in moderation and treated with respect.

So when I reached 18 there was no great mystique however I still found out that getting totally **** faced with you mates and having the odd drunken fumble with the lumpy jumper types was a blast.

BrotherMalice said:

I would also like to point out that my boy only usually gets as far as poking his toung in the glass

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at 29 you'd think he'd progressed by now :whistle: :lol:

Jeltz said:

lumpy jumper types

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:lol: :lol: :lol: Haven't heard that one in a while!!!