When is the Proper Age to Introduce Alcohol to Children?
Now before I start this I want to say, that I’m not saying you should give your kids tons of alcohol before teen years, since the younger the kid is, the more the alcohol will affect them, which is pretty much the main, and only reason for people having to be over 21.
It’s great to introduce alcohol to your children at around 15-17 but while you are with them, ONLY when you are with them. You know your kid is going to drink when they are in college, and you need to teach those limits so later in life when there are no restrictions from drinking more they know the consequences and won’t hurt themselves. But try not to force the restrictions of rebellion is a very popular nowadays, and you are considered “cool” if you do rebel. So remember to not force restrictions and they might rebel and get what’s coming to them, but remember to start slow and act like it’s a fun thing!
Another thing is that if you allow this there is no reason for the teens to hide drinking from their parents as it’s allowed in the house. It’s showed that 60% of 10th graders regularly drink, and allowing it in the house would just increase the trust with the parent and the teenager. I mean it’s not only me that thinks this, whole OTHER countries (like China, Togo, Benin, Indonesia, Mali, and 14 others!) Thinks this, and allows kids to have beer as kids, it’s just like having grape juice or water!
If you are thinking about talking to your children and giving them alcohol, I’ll give you a few tips. Kids starting thinking positively about alcohol at around ages 9-13. So the age 9 might be a good time to tell your child about alcohol and the defects but also the positives and if they ever want to try it, tell them to do it with you, it promotes bonding and trust. And doing this could prevent many deaths in college, it’ll stop overdrinking and lower the number of “1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 died from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes (Hingson et al., 2009).”
Talk to your kids about alcohol – bring it up casually and be non-threatening about it. Maybe even quote the statistics above to start a conversation. Tell them real stories of your life when you have seen alcohol hurt people. Show them you’re not an ignorant parent. They’ll love you or it.
Berchelmann, Kathleen. “When Do Kids Start Drinking Alcohol?” Https://Childrensmd.org, 31 Aug. 2015, childrensmd.org/browse-by-age-group/kids-start-drinking-alcohol/.
“Should Parents Introduce Children to Alcohol (in Moderation) at an Early Age?” Debatewise.org, debatewise.org/debates/543-should-parents-introduce-children-to-alcohol-in-moderation-at-an-early-age/.