A recent hot topic on the Stapleton Mom’s Yahoo! group was in regards to the positive and negative effects of kids drinking at an early age. Some people feel that allowing children to drink wine in the house as kids will make it so the kids do not overindulge when they get into their teens and twenties. “You look at Europeans, and they don’t have the issues we have,” says Brenda Potter. “It’s because they drink at an early age, and therefore, don’t view alcohol as something rebellious. As Americans, we should really change to this type of system.”
Other moms agree. “We allow our 13 and 11 year old to have a small glass of wine at dinner,” says Ann York. “I think it is a good way to teach them to be responsible with alcohol, and at the same time, hope they learn that drinking is part of society, and doing it won’t make them cool.” The goal for most of these parents is to gain more control over their child as they mature. “We are simply trying to get ahead of things,” says Trisha Farrell. “We are hoping to control their life experiences so that they don’t have to experience the highs and lows of life. We are already at work looking to arrange a marriage for our daughter as well.”
Not all parents agree that having your child drink at an early age will cause them to not binge drink as they get older. “Have the people that are saying this ever been to Europe?” asked Stacey Riekse? “That place is a mess. I have seen tons of drunk idiots in Europe, and not all of them were Americans. I doubt there is a correlation between letting kids drink early and then having them be responsible drinkers during college.” “I guess I don’t care if other people let their kids drink,” says Betsy Williams. “But, we are not going to allow our tween kids to drink in the house. They are going to have to sneak out of the house when they are in high school and get drunk for the first time on Mad Dog 20/20 like we all did. I’m not going to make it that easy on them.”
Surprisingly, the Stapleton Mom’s Yahoo! group never did come to a consensus. So to find out what is best for your kids, read the opinions you agree with, then chastise the people who don’t share your values and opinions. Ultimately, that will help us to collectively make the best decisions for our Stapleton children.
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