What do you think of kids drinking VIRGIN drinks?

Question

My husband and I never go out. We are with our daughters, ages 9 & 12 every second except while they're at school. We do everything together, and are very close and open with one another.We have a great relationship with our girls. My question is this:
My husband and I occasionally make mixed drinks at home, such as strawberry margaritas, pina coladas, etc. and we drink them AT HOME, we DO NOT drink and drive EVER.
Sometimes we make the girls VIRGIN margaritas and they really like them.They like drinking fruity drinks, and they know to NEVER get into our alcohol.
Do you think it's wrong for us to let them drink the virgin drinks? Is it sending them a bad message? I've always looked at it in the aspect that we are showing them that people are supposed to drink at HOME and NEVER drive when drinking. Am I wrong?

Answer 1

I'll tell you what happened with my daughter. My wife and I don't drink except very rarely at social gatherings. We'd let my daughter, starting from, oh maybe when she was 11 or so, to drink Shirley Temples or virgin Daiquiris or Pina Coladas. This wasn't often. But she enjoyed the fruity taste of these drinks. At the same time, we educated her about alcohol as best we could.

So she finally hits drinking age and, one night out, tries her first "real" Pina Colada. She hated it! She was conditioned to like the taste of it without the booze, and the addition of the rum made it taste horrible to her. And she grew up to be a responsible young lady who has never gotten drunk -- and intends to keep it that way.

I don't know if that is solely due to our parenting (though, heck, I'll go ahead and take the credit), but the occasional "virgin" drinks didn't scar her, and we are proud of her. I think you're doing fine.

Answer 2

I believe the fastest way to set your kids up for failure is to not teach them about something. Sounds to me you are doing a fine job of teaching them about the effects of alcohol. The drinks you make them are just fruity drinks to them, you could call them anything and it probably won't make a difference to the kids. Keep on teaching them about the effects of alcohol and that you can have just as fun (and safer) a time without it as with it. I would enhance your lesson to that, and not that drinking to excess at home is acceptable. As they get older, make it a point to teach them what their limits are and that there is such a thing as alcohol poisoning and that is can be lethal. I am a Campus Public Safety Officer, you should see the things I've seen. I could write a book. A really BAD book.

Answer 3

I think it's just fine. My father did the same thing and I have turned out just fine. I drink about once a month—if that! You're setting a good example to your children regardless of what others say... and all the family time will put a good impression upon your children to realize when is the right time to drink. You're not providing them with alcohol and a lot of school dances like proms and soph hops use virgin drinks too.
Don't ask for opinions from people on here, they try to make you look like you're a bad parent. Continue doing what you're doing, it's just fine.

Answer 4

I think it's fine but my kids don't like it. We had a cookout last Summer and one of the guests was making pina colodas and strawberry daiquiris. They wanted to try it- virgin, of course. Neither liked it and settled for pineapple juice with cherries as garnish.

Answer 5

I think ur more than 100% right!
Well first of all ur not giving than alcohol which is good. Second of all i think virgin drinks have nothing wrong with teaching ur kids. also its good that there a 95% that when ur kidz grow up there proably gonna have drinks at weddings and important events! So your showing them dont drink that much. Your doing fine! :)
Happy Holidays,
Sillyup2

Answer 6

I think you are doing just fine. When I was young, my parents used to make me "Shirley Temples" (7-up and marachino cherry juice) when they had a drink. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world! Besides, there isn't much difference between a virgin daquiri and a fruit smoothie-and you wouldn't worry about giving your girls one of those!
Sounds to me like you are giving your kids a positive example.

Answer 7

I think it's perfectly fine. When I was little and my parents would make blended drinks, they would always make me virgin daquiris. I also always ordered virgin daquiris at bars and restaurants. Having my parents not hide the fact that they drink actually demystified it for me, and therefore made me not want to go out and binge drink like my friends did. You're doing the right thing.

Answer 8

Nope!!!

I think its fine. My parents did too. I mean you have to teach your kids about alcohol of course.

You do this by telling them why its bad for kids and by giving them a positive example of you drinking RESPONSIBLY at home.
You should talk to them about why drinking responsibly is important and what alcohol is like when its drank in huge quantities.

Kids learn more by what you do than by what you say.

Alcohol in moderation is perfectly positive. The problem is
drinking too much and drinking to deal with depressione etc.

(Alot of the worst abusers of things like alcohol, even sweets, are those who were completely deprived of them at home. Repression is as bad as its opposite.)

Answer 9

As long as they know to stay away from the alochol, it probably makes them feel grown up to be drinking "the same" thing as Mom & Dad. It sounds like you're teaching them responsibility and awareness about alcohol, so I don't see the harm.

Answer 10

That's what my mother and Grandmother let me do. There's nothing wrong with that. As long as they know that they aren't supposed to go into your alcohol then everything is fine.