31. It is clear that education of alcohol is needed. I was educated about alcohol as a child and have seen first hand the advantages and disadvatages it has. In high school and in college I did not drink excessively or put myself or others in undo risk because of what I was taught at an early age. Allowing a child to have a small amounts of alcohol while educating them about the advantages and disadvantages of drinking is fine. The point is to educate the child about moderation and self control, benefits and consequences. If allowing a child to have a small sip of alcohol is abuse then so should be allowing a child to have large amounts of sugar or caffeine or eating at most fast food establishments on a regular basis, which is obviously occuring since child-obese rates are on the rise. As for Ann, I'll assume that your statistics are correct but have you looked into other factors in that study. How many of those exposed to alcohol at age 14 we educated about it? How many were drinking in secret, binge-drinking or drinking with parent supervision? What was the circumstances that influenced them to start drinking and possibly become alcohol-dependant? Age is not a direct factor of substance abuse. There are many factors involved. by the way, I was also taught firearm safety at an early age and now have a healthy respect for them as well.

Nehemiah at 10:32AM on May 5th 2008

32. I think this woman has the correct handle on the alcohol issue. This is what I've done with my kid, and it works. This is what was done with me, my brothers and my cousins, and it works. If you demystify wine and beer and treat it in a balanced manner, you get kids who know how to deal with and don't treat getting drunk as part of some parental backlash growing up rite. If you demonizae alcohol, you get kids who regard it as a special challenge and treat it as such. Short and sweet is: If you act like a balanced adult around alcohol, your kids will follow suit.

Lionruby at 11:05AM on May 5th 2008

33. If children are now at the mental state that they cannot just accept that something should be done in moderation, that it is dangerous, unhealthy and deadly if taken advantage of, without having to try it first, we're having some serious intelligence issues with our kids. I think we really are getting more stupid.

Strados at 11:50AM on May 5th 2008

34. Most Europeans let their children drink alochol at the dinner table, albeit watered down a bit. They have more respect for it and know better to go out and drive and act like idiots. We (American) need to chill out a bit, I let my children sample beverages now and again, and usually I get a nasty face from them anyway. I would rather my children learn to appreciate good alcoholic beverages in moderation at home rather than have them learn about it at college through binge drinking of cheap crap beers and liquors.

mindstream at 2:03PM on May 5th 2008

35. As someone who was raised with mostly poor-quality choices when offered alcoholic drinks, I can honestly say that I usually refused out of either medical or dietary considerations. I'm not opposed to the occasional drink, though beer tastes foul and the wine may as well be vinegar in most cases. Even with "hard" liquors, moderation is NOT difficult if you have functioning brain cells. If not, I guess you were raised in a tyrannical home, where everything was called "wrong" or "unacceptable", or worse.

Alaras at 2:50PM on May 5th 2008

36. I wish my mom had taught me about alcohol. My mom never approved of underage drinking. but as a young adult i can admit that if it were taught to me, then i wouldn't have to figure everything out on my own. I assure you that i am not an alcoholic. but i do drink in social situations. While in college i have had to figure out my limit. I still don't know my limit for sure. but had i been taught about alcohol and its effects. I know i would be a more responsible person.

I agree with Ms. Roberts. Providing your children with a taste of alcohol is no more potent then the children's tylenol that you give them to make that fever go away. Instead, of curing them... you are preventing future alcoholics. I have seen many peers succumb to alcoholic tendencies and have even seen several die because of the lack of moderation.

The state should have NO say in what children learn about alcohol and its uses. This is solely a family affair. To think that the state should socialize alcohol education is ridiculous. Stay out of family affairs.

Scott
Age 20

scott at 6:59AM on May 6th 2008

37. My parents, while they obviously pointed out that drugs and alcohol weren't good for you and should be avoided, were fairly liberal in the upbringing of all 4 of their children.

We were allowed to taste wine at dinner, especially during holidays, and we were allowed to taste beer as well. Obviously, both are an acquired taste, and none of us cared for them as children. However, because my parents took a common sense approach instead of saying "NO NO NO!!" and not providing a reason, I think all four of us grew up with a rational view of alcohol and drugs in general.

None of us have drug or alcohol problems, none of us have ever been in rehab, and I strongly suspect it will remain that way. I won't lie and say that I didn't touch alcohol or drugs during my teenage years. I did (in the case of the drugs, pot). I think since I was taught to use common sense, and to look at things objectively, it became the voice of reason and moderation for me.

I look around me (especially where I live, in Wisconsin), and everyone seems to think alcohol is just the greatest thing ever. I rarely even drink at all, socially or otherwise. I think I might have developed a very different view of things if I'd grown up being taught that everything was bad, and hands off, because it's bad, especially while seeing people everywhere doing what I'm told is bad. I love hypocritical parents that can down a 6 pack in a day, and tell the kids that alcohol is bad, so they better never see them touching it.

Great article, and many great replies. It's nice to see that so many people use a common sense approach to raising their children, instead of setting absurd rules and never clarifying to their inquisitive children as to why those rules are in place.

zatheus at 7:08AM on May 8th 2008

38. I don't think that is morally correct. Exposing a 5 year old to alcohol is abuse. Kids get enough peer pressure to do things, they certainly don't need (at 5 years of age) to be given a "drink" to teach them about drinking moderately.
If they get hooked at this age, think of what they'll be like in 5-10 years. Not necessary. I will be praying for this family and child.

Viejita linda at 6:26PM on May 8th 2008

39. "I don't think that is morally correct. Exposing a 5 year old to alcohol is abuse. Kids get enough peer pressure to do things, they certainly don't need (at 5 years of age) to be given a "drink" to teach them about drinking moderately.
If they get hooked at this age, think of what they'll be like in 5-10 years. Not necessary. I will be praying for this family and child."
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"Exposing" a child to alcohol by letting them sip it is NOT abuse. I don't see how you expect them to "get hooked" by a sip either. They aren't snorting cocaine.

Peer pressure and substance abuse aren't two things that I would normally connect with a 5 year old. Peer pressure is virtually non-existant in that age, most kids are impulsive at that age, and less driven to doing things because their "friends" want them to. They do things because THEY want to.

I think it's far more "immoral" to subject a child to religious teachings at a young age, with stories of hellfire and an eternity of suffering and punishment for "being bad", but people seem to be just fine with psychologically scarring their children with that crap.

zatheus at 9:42AM on May 11th 2008

40. "A psychological study of Italians and their attitude toward alcohol showed that Italians think of their vino primarily as a beverage, not as a drug. This gave them (at the time of the study; may have changed) the lowest rate of alcoholism in continental Europe. (Iceland's was even lower.) The same study showed that the French seemed to think of it as a drug first, beverage second, and they had the highest rate in Western Europe"

If that isn't evidence supporting exposing children to responsible drinking, I dont know what is.

My parent have exposed me to alchohol with dinner since I was very young, and now at 16 I am one of the few people in my grade that has never had a sip of alchohol at a party or gotten drunk.

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/76278

Liz at 4:23PM on May 19th 2008

41. Alcoholics usually come from one of two parental backgrounds: alcoholics and tea-totallers. In neither case do they ever learn to drink responsibly, and keeping them away from booze at an early age will do nothing to change this. The Jews have one of the lowest alcoholism rates of any ethnic group, and they permit their children to drink wine on special occasions. Drinking a bit of wine at an early age will not prevent a child from later becoming an alcoholic if the child has little experience of adult moderation, but if the adults around them drink responsibly, early exposure can remove the attraction to binge drinking so common amongst college students, who regard drinking as a newfound privilege of being an adult. This binge drinking can later escalate to full blown alcoholism if it becomes a habit.

Mark at 10:05PM on Jul 2nd 2008

42. Ada makes such common sense it is hard to imagine those who diagree with her having any. It's like those who use the saying "Not because it's a good idea, but because it's against the law".

jerry l campbell at 10:00AM on Oct 14th 2008