Where do you keep the booze?

[Amy loves Bud]

We were recently at a friend's who has a great outdoor kitchen by their swimming pool in the backyard. It includes an undercounter fridge. They said that they can't stock it anymore because whenever they do the contents are stolen! They suspect a teen on their cul-de-sac, but obviously can't know for sure. We told some other friends about this and one piped up to say that when he was a teenager he used to go into open garages and steal beer from the fridges in them! :eek:

 

Well, we keep our beer in a fridge in the garage! Our liquor, what little there is, is up in a high cabinet in the kitchen. The whole thing has me thinking about where we keep it. Should it be under lock and key? Not just from people stealing it, but from our kids and their friends? They are young yet, but the teenage years come so fast. I don't envision my kids being the type to do this, but ya know, parents have been surprised before, and there is always the Eddie Haskell factor, :rolleyes:.

 

So, my question is, do you keep it under lock and key, or do you care? Has it even crossed your mind (it honestly hadn't crossed mine).

[Rich with Kids]

You mean there's supposed to be some left to store? Huh...

[Scarlett]

I don't keep it under lock and key...but ds is only 8. I have been thinking about this lately though.

[Free Indeed]

When we begin doing foster care (in classes now) we will have to keep ours high and locked.

[momofkhm]

The top shelf in the pantry. The beer and wine is in the fridge. The kids are a tad young yet to be getting into it. DH and I were both raised that we could have it with our folks so that's sort of what we're doing. BUT none of our kids likes the taste of beer or wine. I'm not encouraging them to keep trying the stuff either! If they don't like the taste, that's great!

 

Funny thing about taste and beer. I was at church months ago and asked about 5 guys if they liked beer the first time they tried it. Every single one of them thought that first can was nasty! Then I asked them why they ever had a second one and no one knew. But they all drink beer now!

[Crissy]

I have a custom, built-in wine rack for the better reds. The mediocre stuff is in the pantry. White wine is in the fridge, and liquor is in a high kitchen cabinet.

 

I do believe my older son will not drink in his teen years. I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be, like my husband, a non-drinker even as an adult. He has very strong convictions about alcohol for a number of rather personal reasons.

 

As for the nine year old, who knows. He's been different in every possible way from his older brother. :)

[beansprouts]

The top shelf in the pantry. The beer and wine is in the fridge. The kids are a tad young yet to be getting into it. DH and I were both raised that we could have it with our folks so that's sort of what we're doing. BUT none of our kids likes the taste of beer or wine. I'm not encouraging them to keep trying the stuff either! If they don't like the taste, that's great!

 

My parents used to give me a sip now and then and it was completely harmless. I wouldn't have a problem with it, personally.

But isn't that illegal nowadays?

[GothicGyrl]

My parents used to give me a sip now and then and it was completely harmless. I wouldn't have a problem with it, personally.

But isn't that illegal nowadays?

Depends.. Some states do allow parents to serve their own minors in their home. In fact, some states do allow minors to be served at restaurants with parent permission.

 

And now I know why all my rum is gone--you ladies drank it.

 

That's ok, I still have my Sangria..

[PariSarah]

Not 'cause I'm worried that kids, mine, the neighbors', or otherwise, will steal it out from under me. Just 'cause I don't want to have to walk that far to get it. :D

 

No, seriously, mine is in the kitchen, along with all the other food and drink, handy for cooking and drinking. On a highish shelf just to prevent accidental consumption by a toddler, but not anywhere that would prevent non-accidental consumption by a teen. Perhaps I'll revisit that plan if/when I have a teen for whom this is a problem.

[gandpsmommy]

I don't drink alcohol. I grew up in a household where it was definitely taboo, forbidden, thought to be an evil substance. As an adult, I have changed my views. I have tried wine a few times, but I just can't stand the taste. It tastes like horrible cough medicine to me. I love the idea of drinking wine, though. I thought maybe I didn't like the taste because it just wasn't high quality wine, but one of dh's friends bought us a *very* expensive bottle of wine as a Christmas gift, and I thought it was awful, too. Dh does sometimes enjoy having a beer, or lager, or winter ale. So upon occasion there is a six-pack of Heineken's in our refrigerator. The kids' know that it is just for adults, and we try not to make a larger issue of it. We also have a few bottles of wine that have been given to us, which we keep either in the kitchen or the basement, and a bottle of cooking wine in the kitchen. I think that because of the way we have handled it so far, it won't be a problem for us as the kids get older, but we'll probably know better about that when they get a little older.

[Daisy]

I'm all for putting it up (if you have it). My sister started on her long road to alcoholism by stealing sips when she was babysitting other folk's kids. She was 10.

 

I don't drink at all. I figure the odds are pretty good that I wouldn't deal well with it if my brother and sister are any indication.

[Susan in IL]

We have the hard stuff in a cabinet in the bar. Beer is in the frig right next to it. My wine is upstairs in the frig.

 

We have never locked it. My oldest is very against drinking (where he got that from I'll never know :D) and the friends he has had over are all the non-drinking ones. The younger one, now, I'll keep an eye on him. He is much different and his friends might be the kind to try it.

 

My neighbors did have locks put on their liquor cabinet since they knew their kids would drink it.

 

I guess you just have to know your kids and their friends as to the path you take.

 

We don't have a frig in our garage but even if we did, we never leave the door open.

 

My parents never locked anything up. My brother would drink vodka and then put water into the bottle to make it seem like nothing was gone. Until my dad went to use it and figured it out. LOL!!!

 

Us baby boomers know just about every trick in the book since our parents were clueless. I keep telling my kids that and they do believe me because I can tell them stories.........................

[T Baer]

They never looked there.

[Tammy]

and the 'opened' bottles are in the frige inside, LOL!

 

I can't imagine anyone going into my garage and helping themselves....LOL! I would certainly see them coming....LOL!

 

Tammy

[Just Me]

At the store! ;)

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist! We don't drink here, so we don't need to lock it up. Although there are times when I wish I had some for cooking - but not enough to go out and get it!

[Jenny in Atl]

Our wine is in the rack, beer in the fridge and hard stuff in the bar. Neither of mine seem at all interested and they have both had wine with Eucharist and a little Scotch with Hot Toddies when sick.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Our wine is in the rack, beer in the fridge and hard stuff in the bar. Neither of mine seem at all interested and they have both had wine with Eucharist and a little Scotch with Hot Toddies when sick.

 

My dear grandpa used to make me Hot Toddies!! Oh, I miss him. Thanks for reminding me. I might have to go and buy a bottle of scotch.:o

[Mrs Mungo]

Right now I have premixed margaritas in my fridge and wine on a wine rack. I hadn't really thought about putting it up but maybe I should reconsider. Hm, something to think about.

[Crissy]

Right now I have premixed margaritas in my fridge and wine on a wine rack. I hadn't really thought about putting it up but maybe I should reconsider. Hm, something to think about.

 

Heh. I saw your name on the thread and I was sure I'd scroll down and find your answer to be "in my hand."

Not that I think you're a lush or anything:p, but I do like your avatar. :D

[Mrs Mungo]

Heh. I saw your name on the thread and I was sure I'd scroll down and find your answer to be "in my hand."

Not that I think you're a lush or anything:p, but I do like your avatar. :D

 

LOL!!!

[abbeyej]

Huh. Mine's on the counter. (Except the vodka, which is in the freezer, and a couple of beers, which are in the fridge.) If I had a better place to store mine, I would, but there's no pantry and hardly any storage in my kitchen at all. (I'm hopeful that this is temporary! lol...)

 

But really, no, I haven't thought about it. My parents rarely had much alcohol around, but when they did, it would never have occurred to either my brother or to me to steal any of it. Dh's parents have always had some on hand, and it was never a problem for him either. My own kids are young, but...

 

If I had a child for whom I truly thought this would be a serious temptation -- a real problem -- I would likely just choose not to have any alcohol in the house. If there was something for adults, it would need to be consumed at a single sitting / event and leftovers either tossed or sent home with the guests. If I truly thought my child was going to *steal* alcohol from our home -- that they were that desperate -- I wouldn't have it around. I mean, really, would locking it prevent a really determined teen? lol... (Of course, a teen *could* always find it elsewhere too, but I'd see it sort of along the same lines as why I don't keep cheesecake in the house when I'm dieting.)

 

For now, while my kids are relatively young, I'm concerned with teaching my kids what occasional, moderate, responsible drinking looks like. And letting them know, without hyperbole or hysteria, what excessive or inappropriate drinking can do to people.

 

(And as to the friends, well, if neighborhood children were stealing my alcohol stored outside, I guess I wouldn't be able to leave it outside anymore. But, man, would I be livid!)

[Colleen]

There's usually wine and beer in the fridge, and another couple of bottles of wine in the closet where I have other food stuffs. If I have any hard liquor on hand, it's in a kitchen cupboard. I don't feel compelled to "hide" alcohol.

[mcconnellboys]

It has crossed my mind. I do think of it. I do have a 15 year old who is now bringing more friends into my house on a regular basis. I watch them all closely. I monitor breath, hair and clothing smells, LOL. If there were ever anything in demeanor, language, etc. that alerted me, then I might take action to move things out of reach. At this time, there has been none of that, so I don't worry too much.

 

We don't keep that much in the way of alcohol in our house and we don't drink that often. We don't drink around other teens, in general. We have allowed my son to taste various forms of alcohol if we're having something at home and he has hated them all. I speak to him on a regular basis about the possible ramifications of drinking, the responsibilities one must take on if one is going to drink, etc.

 

I think one thing that's helped me (although I hate so much that it has to be) is that a close friend of his has an older brother who is involved with not only drinking, but also drugs (and theft related to all that, too). He has been able to hear about and to some extent see, firsthand, that the things I've told him all these years are really true - and I think it's made him have no interest in chancing going down a similar path by playing with these sorts of things. As I said, I wish that no one else had to suffer in order to provide a lesson for my son, but a lesson it has been, nevertheless.

 

Regena

[Danestress]

In the closet.

 

I have a large walk in closet, and not that many clothes. I buy wine by the case to save 10%, so typically I just shove it under my long dresses in the closet. Whatever is already opened is above the breakfast cereal (high shelf) of in the fridge if it needs that.

[Amy in Orlando]

We keep beer out in the garage fridge. Wine on the counter or in the fridge. We rarely drink liquor, but have some in the back of the china cabinet cupboard - behind the Latin flash cards - I don't hide it with the flash cards, I just use them more.

 

We have teens in and out of the house - usually through the garage - all day long. It's not been an issue.

[Laura Corin]

DH and I were both raised that we could have it with our folks so that's sort of what we're doing.

 

Alcohol was around when I was a kid and my parents didn't lock it away. We'll see how things go over the years, but I like the idea of introducing alcohol in a controlled way at home, before the child is let loose at university (and possibly with a car too).

 

I definitely wouldn't want it lying around outside where some driving teen could get at it.

 

Laura

[TCoppock]

We don't have that much alcohol in our house but what we do have is in the open. DS is still young but we talk about responsibility when it comes to drinking. I also share stories about the effects of too much and long term abuse. It was taboo in my family growing up to even speak of it and that peaked my curiousity even more. We speak openly with DS and when he has questions we answer them honestly. Hopefully he will feel just as comfortable when he is a teen talking to us. If I knew that DS or any of his friends had problems with alcohol I wouldn't think twice about not bringing it into our home.

[KAR120C]

It includes an undercounter fridge. They said that they can't stock it anymore because whenever they do the contents are stolen!

 

You know, they can probably get it fitted with a lock.... A lot of undercounter fridges come with locks for that very reason!

 

We keep our liquor in a locked upper cabinet, but the key is on the rack with all the other keys. Basically we're not keeping DS out of it (he's 8 and doesn't care) but reserving the right to remove the keys whenever it would suit us. If we're leaving him with a babysitter, for instance, or if he has friends over that we feel compelled to keep out of there. Or if we're ever concerned about it being an issue for him.