What do you think of kids drinking underage with their parents permission?

Question

Some argue that it can be good because it makes alcohol seem less like a forbidden temptation and makes them less likely to get drunk and crazy as soon as the opportunity comes up. Others argue that it plants seeds for alcohol problems because drinking becomes a part of the kid's life a little too early. What do you think?

Answer 1

I think it depends on the age of the child and what kind of drinking you are talking about. A glass of wine with dinner for a 17 year old might not be a problem (common practice in many other parts of the world). If your talking about letting your 16 year old throw a wild kegger then I think that is a bad idea.

Answer 2

If the parents are drinking together with under age children of a certain age - I don't mean giving alcohol to a 10 year old child - I think it's good for their social education. The limit given by law is made so that business can be better controlled, but I believe that parents need to work on issues such as drinking in order to avoid future problems.
On the other hand, if parents let kids make home parties and provide alcohol I think it's a matter of civil responsibility, compared to a crime. It's the same as someone that sells alcohol to an underage.

Answer 3

Just because someone under the age of 21 has a drink, DOES NOT make them automatically become an alcoholic! Get real people! Alcoholism is something that happens to someone with an addictive personality, not something that automatically happens because the parent didn't see anything wrong with an occasional supervised drink.
If you feel that you are a responsible parent and you have raised a responsible child, and this child is at least 18, I don't see anything wrong with not keeping it a mystery or forbidden temptation. After all, if an 18 year old is old enough to vote and die for his country in a war that he didn't start, he should be old enough to have a beer.

Answer 4

Well i was allowed to drink underage, under supervision. I believe it tought me the meaning of responisble drinking. Now i am of legal age i see so many of my friends go out and get so wasted they are in the toilets throwing up by the end of the night, i have never been like that.

My parents never let my friends drink unless they had spoken to their parents and had there permission. We used to drink small amounts never leave the house and have so much fun but nothing ever happen. Now when we go out we are all switched on and have a good time..

I dont think that there is a problem with it as long as the parent is supervising there child and limits the amount of alcohol they can have. I dont agree with these parents who just go buy their kids a slab and let them demolish themselves to me that pretty much just handing them the number for AA.

I just believe there is a limit

Answer 5

What alot of people are missing, is that nowadays kids drink underage without their parents permission/supervision.

Isn't it better that they drink WITH permission/supervision.

I understand that a bunch of people will say "i never drank as a kid" but that was then, now it is pretty much standard that there is alcohol at 15/16 year old parties or get togethers.

Illegal or not, it's better that a parent introduce them into the world that is drinking rather than them getting pissed off their face the first time someone brings a bottle of vodka to a party.

Answer 6

I believe that alcoholic drinks just provoke underage people into addiction. Without ever drinking alcohol, underage people would never know the taste of those nasty bottles of beer or wine. However, some religions require you to drink a minimum amount of alcohol, so I guess there's no wrong in that. In general, I think alcohol is something that should be banned from underage children even under supervision, unless it is mandatory to be drank.

Answer 7

I think it teaches kids that their parents think they are above the law!

I think it is a bad idea. We taught our kids that they should obey the law and that alcohol is something to be careful about when they were old enough to use it. Because my family has alcoholism in it I felt I needed to be openly cautious with my daughters about it so they wouldn't be too likely to get hooked. My oldest has told me she got blind drunk a couple of times. She has since grown up and now drinks very moderately. My youngest is married and still underage, so I have no idea what she and her full-age husband do about alcohol. I just hope they never have to go through the horrors of alcoholism or a drug addiction.

edit: By the way, my mother bought me vodka to take out with me, "so people couldn't put LSD into my drinks", when I was 17 (early 70's). She gave me no training in how to handle it. I went through some scary drunken scenes - one of which was my own - and have no good memories of drinking any alcohol. I think she meant well, but it was still a lousy idea. Back then it wasn't legal to drink until age 18.

Answer 8

Yep! Drinking underage is fine under *responsible* adult supervision.
When I was little if I wanted to drink a sip of whatever my parents were drinking they would let me... but I didn't like the taste at all of alcohol when I was younger so I turned out to be more conservative than my parents!
Now I'm 18 and I only drink when my mother is around and with her permission. Which I think is perfectly fine! Being raised this way made me not curious at all of wondering what it tastes like and going overboard with it, which I have seen many times with my friends.

Answer 9

i don't think it'll increase they're chances in becoming an alcoholic (if it's only occasionally). my dad never drank until he was legal.. and well he still became a god damn alcoholic. BUT if you let your child get smashed at home, well your just setting them up for alcoholism and a life of struggle.
another thing i doubt is that a child will think that because they can drink at home they wont drink with they're friends. If anything they'll want to show off the fact that they've built up a tolerance and can hold more alcohol. They will also probably start to steal their parents alcohol if they feel like they have access to it and can drink it.

I think they should be allowed to drink a little on special occasions. This way it wont harm them but it wont encourage them to retaliate.

Answer 10

To be honest I have tried not to think abt that question but some people think "omg what horrible parents" but u know... kids are gonna do what they are gonna do. they will do it behind your back so might as well have them inside the safety of your own home and they build an honest relationship with u more likely trust ur judgement with drugs and not think u are just being overprotective. At least those parents know where there kids are at and what they are doing. I am not saying I am going to be this way with my kids but I am not quick to pound on parents who do as long as it is not involving other parents kids without those parents permission or throw a party or anything stupid like that. At Thanksgiving my family would give me and my cousin a glass of wine when we were teens. We learn how to be mature about it and not rebellious. I am not 28 and I hardly ever drink except maybe holidays.

Answer 11

It depends on several factors. One being the age of the child. They should be at an age where you know they fully understand the consequences of drinking. And when it isnt so health damaging. Another thing would be how responsible the child is and how good the relationship between the parent(s) and the child is. If you already trust your child to make good choices then you probably dont even have to do this but it would be ok for them to have an occasional glass of wine if they askedfor one. It would depend how much alcohol the parent would plan to allow the child to have. As well as the drinking habits of the parents, if the parent drank a lot it would set an example of drinking heavily but only when you are an adult.

My parents offered me wine/champagne at holiday gatherings since I was about 12. I took a sip of each at seperate occasions and found them both extremely repulsive and haven't drinken them again. Of course I am only 15 now but I don't plan on drinking at all because I don't see it as anything exciting or any reason to do it. My parents rarely drink, only on special occasions, but my grandfather drinks a good amount of alcohol(a lot). After seeing him drinking and my parents not drinking it is usually my parents having a better time, especially since they can remember it better.

My cousin is also offered alcohol but he likes it and he only takes a tiny sip even though he could drink more if he wanted.

I have a friend whose mother is very irressponisble but thinks that she does a great job at being a mother and lets my friend drink with her, they actually go out drinking together. Their approach is that by allowing her to have drinks she will not see it as a rebellious thing to do and wont do it. Which isn't the case. My friend goes and gets drunk with her friends(not me, the other ones.)

So it all depends. In most cases I would say its not a good idea unless they know that their child is aware of all the consequences and they 100% trust their child. Even still most parents are not fully aware of what goes on in their teenagers head.