Alcohol: At What Age Is It Acceptable?

Ok, so in the UK you can drink alcohol in your own home from 5, drink with a meal at a restaurant at 16 and drink as much as you bloody well like at 18.

But at what age is it acceptable to start experimenting with alcohol? When do you give your children their first sip of wine or beer? How old until you let them have a full glass? At what age is it acceptable for your kids to go out and have a few drinks with their friends?

I was personally allowed sips of wine from about nine, and first got drunk about 13/14, by the time I was 17 I was going to the pub about once a week.

I actually drank more when I was 17/18 than I do now and feel I have a good respect for alcohol. What about you?

Never.

I didn't give my kids alcohol. I didn't let them sip at home during any special occasions nor for fun.

I know they did go out and drink before their legal age because I caught them.
I don't know if they have a healthy attitude toward alcohol or not. I sure hope so.

Don't you think prohibiting them from it would put alcohol on a pedestal? Wouldn't it be better to teach them to respect alcohol?

Never ever....

I dont see why people like beer so much

I guzzled 3 of them once and it tasted like s***, then my dad said "cuz its budweiser" lmao

Different people, different cultures, different abilities to handle alcohol. That's what it all boils down to,lol.

Depends how religious you are usually.

I don't think it matters much, I had alcohol as a kid and I don't think it has made any difference one way or another to how much I drink now. Most people I know were boozing at parties before 13. No-one in the places I know would welcome interference from do-gooders, lol.

First I got drunk when I was 13 - not very proud with it. And I've been allowed to sip beer at family gatherings ever since I could remember. Now I only drink at parties with friends, but I try not to get too drunk.
Imo, it's not a question of age, but of education. Here in Bulgaria parents absolutely forbid their children to drink alcohol, and because of that a lot of the children start drinking at a really young age - 11-12 years old are often taken in hospitals with alcohol poisoning and stuff like that. If parents talked with children about alcohol, I think it would be so tempting.
still, that would be no reason to start drinking at the age of 12.

No.
It's not like I shouted evil, bad- hell fire and damnation. I was a Bartender.

I tried to teach moderation. I know teens and how they think. I was one once.

Kids see their peers doing something and that is what puts it on a pedestal. TV, Music... friends.

Tell me, did you drink because your father told you if you didn't by the time you were 15 then you were weird?

Well I tried my first sip of beer at about age five - given from my grandfather. He worked at a brewery. This recurred a handful of times between five and early teens. After that, I didn't really drink anything until about 17, 18 years old.

I think that 16 isn't a bad age to start learning about alcohol. But age isn't really the issue to me. It's about judgment, getting into trouble and sending one's life into a tailspin. Going out and partying, tossing back a few etc, at 14 is just too young in my book.

No, I drank because I was intrigued by it. We are surrounded by it and I wanted to see what it was like. The thing about my dad was just to kind of give an overview of my parents attitude.

I was getting sips of stuff in about 3rd grade, so probably about 9ish, it was beer, which was and still is nasty to me, and rum and coke, which I still enjoy. I had a few underage drinking issues, Since it is 21 here, usually I just wanted to go into the bar and play pool with my friends more than the actual drinking part. And in high school, I was excellent on sneaking it in places it shouldn't be. There would be a few drinks, but not to excess where I was sick afterward.
Except that once I mixed wine coolers and hard liquor. I learned that lesson pretty quick and just stuck to the hard liquor.

Neither of my parents are big drinkers, but they would have some, less so now that I am legal, its just not routine for them anymore.

I think it depends on the maturity of the kid as well as the parenting abilities if the adult.

I had my first sip of beer when I was 4 and started actually drinking when I was 15.

I can understand why we have a legal drinking age. I also understand that people become addicted to alcohol and that can happen to anyone at any age. I am not an expert on addiction but I often wonder if part of the lure of alcohol is that it is forbidden until I certain age. I know that people want what they can't have.

I wonder if we were to teens more about alcohol instead of most of us just saying, you can;t have it, if it would help in the long run with teenage binge drinking and help prevent younger people from getting addicted.

I am not saying let us get our kids drunk but maybe at 16, introduce a glass of wine at dinner and perhaps if a teen learns responsible drinking at this age, it will promote responsible drinking for their lifetime.

I mean, we teach how to drive a car and driving improper causes accidents but we do not really teach about alcohol or how to use it in a responsible manner.

I got a taste of beer when I was around 5 and took to it like other kids take to soda pop. My parents didn't drink so I stole bottles of beer from my gramps. In desperation I would search brother's cars and trucks for loose bottles.
Gramps always had some home brewed whiskey hid around the farm. He got it from an old uncle. I would find those jars hid in the barn, garage or tool shop and take little sips so he wouldn't miss it.

Never.