S/o, have you introduced your older teens yo alcohol?

[J-rap]

We didn't, but then my dh was from a kind of hippie generation where there was always too much alcohol and drugs, and my peer group was similar.  So, we maybe went the other extreme and were extra cautious during our child-raising years.  However, we don't have a problem with alcohol in moderation, and our kids know this.  They now imbibe as over-21-year-olds, moderately and cautiously.

 

[bibiche]

Still a ways away from having a teen, but DS has had tastes of wine since he was a toddler, usually a finger dipped in and tasted, or perhaps the tiniest bit touched to his lips to taste. I think a knowledge that wine (and beer) can complement food is part of an education and a good thing. We model responsible drinking and certainly never drink to get drunk.

 

DS wants to start brewing beer and we are fine with that. Clearly he wouldn't be doing it to drink it, but just because he is interested in the process.

 

We discuss things like intoxication focusing on the etymology. He has an interest in cultural and religious rituals involving intoxication (in a greater context, he is not singularly interested in the intoxication bit!) and we freely discuss the place that alcohol and drugs have played and continue to play in different cultures. I think that viewing alcohol (and drugs) in an intellectual way rather as solely a means to getting messed up can only be a healthy thing.

[lllll]

nm 

 

Edited November 30, 2016 by cathey

[HRAAB]

Our teenage children,15 to 16 and up, are allowed to have a drink with us. It has nothing to do with introducing them to alcohol. It is culture and family. It is normal for our family. No driving, though. And I would never give alcohol to someone else's teen. Honestly alcohol is not a big deal for us. It is a drink we have with a meal. Do you want milk, water, or beer? Oh, and we brew or own.

 

I've not dealt with alcoholism and would never presume how other families should handle this.