IMO, there is an enormous gap between allowing a child to drink and encouraging him/her to get hammered. One is allowing the child to make decisions in a controlled environment and the other is making him/her make bad decisions.
Totally idiotic to do that.
No wonder so many kids are so screwed up.
Seriously, act like parents, not teen buddies.
Yes, my parents allowed me to try pot and were open about sex (talking, not doing, obviously). Gee, the horrors of allowing your child to experiment in your house rather than at some party where no one is looking out for them.
My parents felt it was their duty to prepare me for the real world, not some sanitized bubble. I’m thankful for that.
@intparent @Massmomm I don’t know about the other states intparent listed, but here in West Virginia there are about 17 Jews and about 43 of us Catholics in the entire state so Shabbat and communion aren’t really an issue. Most people wouldn’t know what they are.
Before middle school, my parents let me taste alcohol to see how disgusting the taste itself was. That way, I wouldn’t feel pressured into drinking in social settings and feel pressured to continue even if I didn’t like it. I mean, fermented food and drinks? How gross! I’m also not a fan of being in an altered state of mind, I don’t see the appeal. As for letting your children experience being drunk? I think that’s incredibly irresponsible. That’s dangerous. Most parents aren’t rushing to let their kids get high off of common recreational drugs in college.
@8bagels, . Every year there are reports of kids dying in dorm rooms or bedrooms because they got so hammered that they choke on their vomit. They have no experience. I don’t think anyone here is advocating for teaching kids how to get hammered. We are trying to let our kids experience the effects of alcohol in an enviroment where they don’t need to drive and won’t get into trouble. There is a huge difference between having a glass or two of beer or wine with dinner, and experiencing the effects, versus getting inebriated. Do you think that all those other countries where teen drinking is allowed are harming their kids?
Regarding “what’s next” as you so indelicately put it, I have neither heard of either being responsible for death.
So you’re fearful that you’ve raised a child that is in real danger of being one of the .00001% of kids who go off to college and end up dying by getting drunk and choking on their own vomit?
And you think by giving them a beer before they leave you are protecting them against that?
LOL. Ridiculous, even by ridiculous-CC-parent standards.
Nearly 2000 students die from alcohol related events each year.
Not to mention the tens of thousands of students who end up in the ER but don’t die and hundreds of thousands of students report some type of alcohol related injury.
So yeah, LOL SO RIDICULOUS when nearly half of all students binge drink and nearly 1/3 have reported drinking until they blackout.
@8bagels , yep, pretty ridiculous when kids binge drink and drive. Super funny when kids crash cars, severely injure or kill themselves or others by driving when they don’t know anything about drinking responsibly and think they are fine to drive. Ridiculous when kids get hammered and commit or are victims of sexual assault. It’s all hilarious.
It is naive to think that kids are not going to drink before they are 21. If they are adult enough to marry, drive, own guns, join the military, and vote, they should be adult enough at the age of 18 to know how to consume some alcohol without getting inebriated.
I think it depends on the school though–even though I am personally against the idea.
Let them grow up. They don’t need Mommy holding their hand and “teaching” them everything.
Just raise them right. Primarily by being a good example. They’ll be fine. Don’t be so scared.
"Nearly 2000 students die from alcohol related events each year.
Not to mention the tens of thousands of students who end up in the ER but don’t die and hundreds of thousands of students report some type of alcohol related injury.
So yeah, LOL SO RIDICULOUS when nearly half of all students binge drink and nearly 1/3 have reported drinking until they blackout."
And to think, all those lives that could have been saved if those kids would have just had a beer with Mommy when they were in high school.
I would think that allowing my kid to have a drink with dinner is letting him grow up.
It also happens to be perfectly legal in my state.
I set a good example by letting them have an occasional glass of wine at the dinner table. It’s called behaving like an adult.
2,000/12,000,000 = .00016%.
It’s called behaving like an idiot.
“behaving like an adult”
Whose the “adult” you are referring to?
Are you training them on how to responsibly and occasionally get high too? You know, like an adult.
Once more with vigor, difference between letting and forcing/training.
But I guess that distinction is lost on some people.
And yes, part of training for adulthood is allowing for decisions to be made. Does that mean you buy them a keg and let them get alcohol poisoning? No. Does it mean you let them have a glass of wine with dinner if they want? In my family, yes.
Good freaking grief there is no middle ground with some people.