Should parents let children under 15 drink alcohol?!
Should parents let children under 15 drink alcohol?
Recently in the UK it was suggested that parents who let children under 15 drink alcohol should be fined (At the moment UK law states that children over 5 are allowed to drink in the home so long as they are supervised). A few days later a study was released claiming that children who where allowed to drink with their parents tended be more responsible drinkers.
Answers:
I respect both sides of the argument. However, if it were my child, I would hope that I raised them properly so that they would not see the need to drink socially, nor want to drink to excess.
When I was a kid, my parents always had alcohol in the house. My dad was a weekend alcoholic (drank after playing golf and would come home pizzed...) His dad was the same. I did not want to fall into the same pattern. I was curious about drinking, and tried a few sips, but never a full drink. To this day, I can count on one hand the amount of times I've had "a buzz", and I have never been so drunk that I threw up or lost my ability to walk.
I think that a child needs to be old enough to understand the social aspects as well as the dangers of drinking, and at 15 some kids may be very mature, but there are a lot that are not too. The question is do you make a rule and set a particular age limit?
I tend to agree with the second study. Drinking at home along with responsible parents is probably the best way to help kids understand and be responsible themselves. If they want to drink, they would be less prone to drinking behind their parents backs at a friend's house or at some party where they can be taken advantage of.
However, in today's society we have parents who do not have control of their kids or who suffer from alcoholism themselves, and therefore cannot be considered supervised or responsible.
I believe that 5 years old is much too young to be allowed to drink, even if supervised in front of parents. I think 12 years old would be more appropriate.
However, we need to understand the difference between taking a sip of Daddy's beer or Mom's wine versus chugging a couple of Gin & Lemonade and then getting back on their Big Wheel for a lap around the yard.
Responsible parents would know that due to the age and size of a child, it would take much less alcohol to affect their judgement and actions. Parents who would allow their children to exceed a certain blood-alcohol limit should then be considered guilty of child endangerment. So now you are looking at a fine line between caring parent showing kids how to drink responsibly vs ignorant parent who just wants the kid to get drunk because it would be funny or he/she will fall asleep earlier.
NO NO AND HECK NO.
No
NO
hahahah well if the parents dont let them they're going to figure out another way to do it.
No.Kids should not drink or smoke or have sex.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO ARE YOU CRAZY???
hellz yeah! i wanna some kid get totally wasted with his mom and then bang the living daylights out of her
No alcohol below 18. Full stop.
Absolutely not. Alcohol on no level is appropriate for children, or for adults in my opinon, but for children especially. A responsible drinker doesn't make alcohol healthy or reasonable.
I think it is a horrible thing. It should not be alowed.
WTF no man
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! You have to be at least 18 to drink alcohlol. Why would you even ask that question?
No! Not only is 15 a critical stage in the body's development, both physically AND mentally, but letting a 15-year-old drink alcohol is a gateway to starting a really bad habit that may lead to addiction.
I don't think its responsible parenting to do so. I don't want to be ignorant to the fact that my child my engage in underage drinking at some point which is why I will educate him on the importance of not drinking and driving, etc but never would I condone in under my supervision.
No way...It ruined my life.
I doubt that. Drinking or doing much of anything responcibly is an issue of moderation, and children and teens are not known for their self control.
yes it helps the mind
and the french have less alcoholics than uk too
No. 15 is too young to develop a dependency on alcohol.
lol are you kidding me...no way even if there more responsible they could end up to be possible alcoholics i think who knows though
no, it makes no sense, it just shows the parent is irresponsible, desperate, and don't care for their child's future...
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!
MY DAD DID NOW I'M ADDICTED
BUT IF THER SUPORVISED THEN YES.
Different strokes for different folks. If this is the norm for a country who has the right to question it? No I don't agree but evidently someone there has and will.
children should not drink alcohol even with their parents' supervision.
Absolutely yes, but supervised and in moderation of course. Just look at mediterranean countries where wine with dinner for the whole family is commonplace. You do not get all of the problems associated with alcoholism that you do in the Uk and US. It demystifies alcohol for kids so that when they reach legal drinking age, they don't suddenly go crazy.
No. Part of the reason for not drinking until someone is an adult is because of the affects on growth alcohol can have. It is unhealthy for a youngster to drink. Maybe it would be ok for someone 18 over to drink if supervised by a parent, but not 15. 15 years old is just a child (and if you're 15 years old, get over it. You'll be old enough before you know it, and before too long you'll be wishing you were still young.)
@#$$ NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO... Are you crazy?
Personally, I feel that kids that are supervised drinking are more responsible. But it's not your own kids you are worrying about when they go out. It's who they are getting mixed up with. I feel that it's not an age that determines when you should drink, it's your maturity level. I have seen 23 year olds act a fool b/c there was alcohol at a company party.
NOTICE this one person, "Watcher" who answered this question?. Reporting you even though all you did was ask about a law? Click her profile SHE looks for touble online and reports everything! What a lowlife?