mouse555

iTrader: (1)

I was having a conversation with someone today (secretary at work) about buying alcohol for a minor.

Her son is 15 years old and he has been invited to a party and the boys mother said he had asked her to buy him some beer to take to the party. She said all he wanted was a 4 pack of bottled lager to take with him because others were also taking drink with them and he didn't want to go with nothing.

I queried whether she was really thinking seriously about buying it for him and she said that she was and could not see a problem with it.

I explained that it was an offence to buy alcohol for a minor anyway but at 15 I thought he was far too young and she shouldn't be encouraging him to drink at that age.

Her response was to call me an old b****rd and she said that I should lighten up.

I would not buy alcohol for my son at 15. I do think it's part of growing up to try and buy it yourself (and invariably being refused) behind your parents back but to buy it for your child I think is wrong.

Do I need to lighten up? If you had a 15 year old would you buy them alcohol? Have I turned into an old and out of touch git?

I welcome your thoughts.

Jaybird-UK

You can drink alcohol at home under the supervision of an adult at a very young age I believe

Lady Luck

I'm not a parent, but i'd rather buy my kid 4 cans and trust him while knowing what he was drinking over him drinking anything he can get his hands on.

Aunty has always done that with her 3 kids and they respected her doing it and didn't go mental

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

The only thing I'd buy him is Alcohol free beer

Kids today; In my day we had to buy our own beer from the offy

Lydia72

+1

Lydia72

I can remember being that age, if not a year younger, and either necking back bottles of cheap cider or having a disgusting mix of whatever my friends could remove from their parents stash. We used to get an empty coke bottle and then pour in some vodka, rum, whisky....thinking that if we only took a small amount from each bottle the parents would not notice. Beer might be better than the alternative!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I think at that age they should have the odd beer, just to get them used to it and not go mad, four cans of lager is over the top, especially if they combine it with other stuff that will probably turn up.

belliott69

iTrader: (3)

if you allow your kids a slight bit of freedom and trust they normally end up better adults, i was allowed the odd drink before i was old enough and i now don't need to get smashed all the time. i have some friends whose parents were totally against there children drinking and most of them are really bad for going out all the time and getting completley bladdered nowadays as its like they are protesting against there parents.

Clarebabes

This has put me off whiskey and creme de menthe forever more

GlesgaKiss

You've pretty much said yourself that you expect kids to drink at that age anyway, so I'm not sure why it bothers you so much that she's buying it for him? My mum bought me stuff to take to a house party when I was about 14 or 15 IIRC. I drank more than that there anyway, so it didn't make any difference. Felt like sh*te the next day, so that was the first of the proper lessons... the kind you'd never get from just being told that something is bad.

After that, I used to go to a mates house with a 4 pack of miller they'd bought me. His parents were in, had bought him beer too, and knew what we were all up to so could step in any time.

To be honest that was much better than being kept away from it and then me pretending to go somewhere so I could get p*ssed down the street, and then getting up to god knows what with god knows who.

There's always this paranoia about kids 'getting worse' than they were years ago and that is will lead them down the wrong path. But after that early introduction (and I had drank wine earlier in restaurants) I don't drink much at all now, and I'm still pretty young.

Lady Luck

Pernod, Whiskey and fresh orange in those old stubby black Still Tango bottles being snuck in to school to see how 'cool' we were

belliott69

iTrader: (3)

try a few plastic bottles of vodka and cheap red bull stuff on school sports day, that was a fun day.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

I was going clubbing at 15 so would of been drinking alot more than 4 bottles so in theory she is keeping his beer intake down.

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

We drank at home (on special occasions) from 14, with my Mum keeping an eye. We all soon learnt there was nothing special about getting pissed and VERY quickly learnt how bad hangovers were. So moderation was the name of the game

While all my mates were bragging about how they'd got COMPLETELY p*ssed on this REALLY strong lager, I'd been there, bought the t-shirt and thought "Nah"

CrisPDuk

I don't see a problem with it myself

We tended to allow our two to have a couple of drinks when we went out for meals from about 14yo, whenever the lad went to a party he used to nick a couple of cans from the garage beer fridge*. It was a bit more difficult for the girl, because she had to remember to ask Mum to buy her something on the weekly shop, girly drinks being barred from the garage

*The cost was more than covered by the amount of change left in his pants when they went into the laundry


The lad is 23 now, the daughter 25, and they both seem to have turned out alright

Hysteria1983

My patents allowed my to try/taste anything that they drank. Which in all honesty was never much.

I remember once my dad was drinking some whiskey with the neighbour and I wanted a taste. I was about 13 at the time. I still hate the taste of it! Yuk!

Myself and my dad would often go to the shop on a Sat evening in the summer and buy a few bottles of Bud, I would have been about 16 at the time. I was also clubbing at the same age, accompanied by my brothers (I know, but I got to go all the same).

When I did go out with school friends, they were always drinking some cheap cider and pretending to smoke to look cool. It just didn't appeal to me, I
didn't see the fun in getting lashed on the local park.
I put this down to my parents attitude towards alcohol.

David Lock

A lot depends on what sort of party it is. If it is a free for all the be wary. If boy's parents keep a discrete eye on things then that should be OK.

My kids went to all sorts at that age and I am sure alcohol was involved. 15 is a bit on the young side for Vodka and Coke and skunk for that matter IMHO.

But there was one kids party I recall which ended up with police, and ambulances taking a couple of kids to have their stomachs pumped out.

I celebrated my 18th at my local so I can't be too hypocritical

dl

Lee247

Well, I must admit mine were 15. My daughter who is now 16 is not remotely interested and my Son who is 19 does get wasted occassionaly (well he is a student ) but doesn't bother that much either.

Clarebabes

Didn't have red bull in my day

Silver Angel

my daughter is 14 and she spends her weekends at grandparents where she will drink a glass of wine at the evening meal - I dont object to this she does not drink in my home and I would not purchase alcohol for her but she recently went to a girly sleepover where the mother of her friend phoned me to ask would it be ok for my daughter to have a can of beer to which I allowed

Hysteria1983

I think a big factor here could big the lads size.
If he is a strapping lad with arms like tree trunks, four bottles isn't much, but if he looks like Pee Wee Herman then he would be bladdered.

Lisawrx

iTrader: (1)

To be honest, I'd rather buy 4 cans for a 15 year old, hopefully showing I had some respect for them to be sensible and stick to that, than demonise drink, more than likely leading to them rebelling. Also, I'd prefer to have some control over what they were getting, than leaving them to go to the offy themselves and getting god knows what, or harassing strangers to go in for them.

I'd imagine most adults on here had a drink or so at 15/16, and some would have gone daft, some not. But if I was a parent, I'd rather know what my child was up to, and accept it as part of growing up, and by being reasonable, they would have a few in moderation, rather than them sneaking about, not knowing where they were and what they were doing.

Richy P1984

My first drink was at 5 years old - parents were having a bbq and had one of those wine cartons (very posh i know), it was just in reach of me, and with my parents burning burgers and serving salad I was able to sneak away and fill up a plastic cup. They found me wandering into the kitchen cupboards. Didnt touch a drop after that till my early teens.

My first proper introduction to alcohol was during the summer holidays - was about 14ish and as a treat I was alowed to have a glass or two of shandy (thought I was being very grown up) with my dad watching.

Every now and then (up until I was legal) I would be alowed to have a small amount at special occasions. That sort of introduction stopped it from seeming like a big thing, and so when it was freely available at parties, I tended to only get merry. My parents let me learn about the impacts of alcohol without nagging, which allowed me to develop some 'respect' for it.

Parents who completely deny their children access to it may find their own stores of drink getting raided, and having kids who binge on it because the oppurtunity for having it is so rare. Teens are curious, if you ban them from something or demonise something, they may well try it (without being sensible) and end up worse off, than if they had been 'educated' about it.

Jimbob

iTrader: (13)

I regularly do, its the best way to pull!!

ScoobyDriverWannabe

Used to be easy as anything to get alcohol in my area at that age, a couple of shops sold drink to anyone, as well as the bootleggers selling duty free.

First time I had a drink I got me self 2 bottles of cider, ended absolutely legless and ill for 3 days afterwards. Think I would of been about 15 at the time, I was still a school.

I didn't really get in trouble with my parents, I think they knew I learnt my lesson.

After that I started hanging around with different people, most of who were older than me & used to look out for me. There used to be a gang of us would go night fishing down the beach on a Fri or Sat night. My cousin who was older would get me 4-6 cans and that would do me. He would never get me spirits or cider.
From when I was about 16 my dad used to give me & my m8 a few cans, ie if my folks went out there would be some Carling left in the fridge. There was always spirits readily available in the house and I can honestly say I never touched them.

I think the thinking might of been if they didn't moderate what I drank. I might of gone and sourced it on my own. Drinking the likes of that eastenders wine, cheep cider or super strength lager. And I was at home not walking the streets or in some park.

I never got in trouble & I wouldn't say it ever did me any harm.

Apart from that first time downing the cider iv always been the kind of drinker that knows when iv had enough. I don't drink often, I got some packs of lager last year for xmas & there's still bottles left in the garage. Odd few beers wile watching the footy does me.

I can go out and have a skin-full, but I know there will be a point in the night when il have had enough and il stop or switch to soft drinks.

speye91

Did you see the Beatles Live then Steve?

njkmrs

I would not buy it for my kids at that age ,however I did manage to get hold of a couple of cans of Super Tennants on a school trip one time and my legs were like a new born lambs on the way back .I looked a right wally when we stopped at a service station on the way back and there was a bit of an enquiry by the teacher as to where it came from and who had bought it .!!
I know my dad bought me several pints at age 15ish at my sisters wedding .
I still would not buy my kids any at that age though .