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Your first drink...

billybones

billybones

Thrillseeker
Legend Member
Lot of things in the newspaper and on TV these days about how we shouldn`t encourage our children to drink alcohol but are they correct???

I can remember when I was about 13 my late father got me to drink a couple shadys with him and then a glass of beer just so that he could try and teach me to drink responsibly. He would often tell me that it was better that I drink with him then try to drink behind his back.
I can also remember when I was about 15 or 16 how some of the kids in school were going to parties just to be able to say that they got drunk and all the wild side effects.
My brother also used to go down to the oval on the weekend and share a goonie bag with his mates.

Who do you think is correct??
Was it my father who tried to teach me to drink responsible or the government that is promoting that we shouldn`t be giving them any alcohol at all?? Which could lead to our children simply drinking behind our backs??
 
When I was a kid drinking was a guilty pleasure Now it seems to be a rite of passage
and drinking to get drunk. Then there is the unsafe sex cos your too pissed to care. Free STD's anyone? Or even a unwanted pregnancy at a miles to young a age.
So I guess I would side with billybones old man

Who remembers the first few times drunk? Lie on the bed and the room just spun around
like a carousel.
 
I had my first drink of beer when I was probably 10. YUK That put me off for a few years then the ol Man used to allow me to drink when he had one after work I was about 14 or 15. As I got older I drank more, but I only got shitfaced a few times...... just cooled off when I knew I'd had enough. I would be well over the limit, but not spewing up, cause that cured me from doing it again for a long time.
Bundy and Coke was the drink then...... can't stand the stuff now. More of a single malt scotch man now.

So to answer the Q, I have and would give the youngsters a taste at home whenever you have one, just don't over do it. Bit like smoking, given a cig when I was about 12, tasted like shit, smoked a bit when in my late teens, haven't smoked for 30 years.
 
I don't like the pervasive drinking culture in Australia and New Zealand, the yard glass 21st bullshit, etc, so am inclined to say that I would rather see parents introduce their children to it, but if your parents are bogans as well, that would defeat the purpose.

I spose education is the key, boring and corny as it sounds. And that is all that you can really do, apart from showing active disapproval for this sort of behavior, excluding those who do it for a time, etc.
 
My grandfather at my 7th birthday kept sneaking my small drinks I ended up puking on the way home. I was brought up to have a small drink every now and again by my mother and even now at 26 I do not drink alot and I am aware of its effects but also ive never smoked and never cared to. I drink alcohol for the taste only not to get hammered and I agree Australia`s culture to get blind drunk is wrong it`s the culture of this country and it`s sad.
 
well it may not be a good thing but getting on the piss with ya mates as a teenager was a lot of fun. i never had any at home growing up and went nuts as a teenager onwards. is there a connection - i dunno. either way i dont drink much these days.
 
Well, in my family us kids were allowed to have a taste from quite an early age, graduating to drinking shandy in my early teens followed by beer or wine in my mid to late teens, always at home.

Big point though was that the folks never drank regularly or heavily and never made a big deal over it. It was just something to be enjoyed occasionally and in a civilised manner. We were also told in no uncertain terms that there was nothing clever or "manly" about getting hammered, in fact we would often poke fun at people who were obviously drunk and look down on them as idiots who couldn't handle liquor.

End result was that I grew up knowing my limits and not feeling any pressure to drink or not. I believe this is the best way to educate kids about alcohol and it is the parents' job; it shouldn't be left to the schools, churches or, worse, the Police.
 
svengali said:
End result was that I grew up knowing my limits and not feeling any pressure to drink or not. I believe this is the best way to educate kids about alcohol and it is the parents' job; it shouldn't be left to the schools, churches or, worse, the Police.
Click to expand...

Your last point is a good one But you did forget Politicians. Who lay down the laws while having access to very subsidised liqour in there dining room
Remember 10-15yrs ago When the staff wnt on strike at the dining room in Canberra and the pollies just helped themselves And if it hadn;t been brought to te publics attention They would not have paid a brass razoo
These are the same moral gaurdians who,:occasion14:occasion14 would regulate our vices totally if possible.:occasion14
 
That is a hard question. Drinking these days is a huge part of our social life. I think even more so than back in the day when I got my first drink.
I think however the first drink is going to happen (parents, mates, party etc) it depends very much on the kids' attitude to it. If kids think that it is very cool to get totally pissed (and don't forget the peer preasure) they will go for it regardless who gave them the first drink and when.
The challenge is to teach kids a responsible way with booze and I agree with Alecia........the drinking culture in NZ and Australia is not helping it.
I guess supervised first drinks might be the way to go but unless parents trust their kid's responsible attitude towards alcohol there is no way of controlling it.:occasion14

R.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
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