Quote:
Originally Posted by Agrippina
I have a real problem with this one - it doesn't take the novelty out of drinking - it makes them into hardened drinkers. Imagine the damage to a child's liver if it is allowed a steady flow of booze from a young age. By the time it is an adult it's liver will be pickled. My observation of these sort of people is that by the time the kids can drink legally, they are so used to it that it takes more to make them drunk and sick so they are a danger on the roads. I didn't let mine drink at all. We had seen alcohol abuse in people close to us. When they turned 16 I said that if they wanted to they could have an occasional beer or cider at home only and celebratory champagne, without exception they turned me down - I have since found out that they sampled every liqueur we had in the house already to see which ones were the least distasteful and concluded that they all tasted like rubbish.
Then at 18 I made a big show of the fact that they could drink legally and still no takers. Now as older people two of them don't drink at all. The other two are moderate drinkers and responsible drinkers, except the eldest who can get a bit silly at parties, but then he won't drive and it doesn't take much for him to fall asleep. What I hate though is that none of the men in my family ever get hangovers but I do, I hate that, if I party I have to sleep through the next day, always been that way, so I never have more than an occasional glass of wine (or a beer with steak).
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Liver damage doesn't happen after the first drink, even in minors (unless they are very young, like under 6). It is that their livers cannot process large amounts of alcohol (2 or more drinks at once) until they get into their early 20's (then they can do around 4 drinks at a time before damage starts to accure). My parents took the same approach with my, taking the mystery out of alcohol, I'd have about 1/2 a glass of wine with my parents about twice a week since I was 15. Tried beer once at 15 (didn't like it) and had my first try of strait hard liquor at 18 (one shot of 80 proof whiskey).
Many people have the problem of doing heavy drinking under age (damaging thier liver that won't show until later in life) and then on their 21st birthday, they go out with all their friends on the 21 run. At the University of Washington, the number of students that die from alcohol poisoning is second only to car crash deaths, and 1/3 of the Alcohol poison deaths accured on the 21 run.
We have to do more than just try to scare kids out of drinking.