I know there are people out there who would consider that giving alcohol to a child to be abusive.

Sure, especially nowadays, when each child is supposed to be treated like a delicate little snowflake who'll melt to nothing if breathed on too hard. :/ When I was a kid (I'm forty-six now, as a reference) my family was unusual but didn't draw horrified stares or anything. And I agree that if there's alcoholism in the family, it's a different matter because of the genetic component. [nod]

Then again *coughs* sugar *coughs*

LOL! Except that I could scoop as much sugar into my coffee as I wanted, turning it into hot syrup if that's what I felt like drinking. [eyeroll] When I was little (up till six or so) my habitual coffee adulteration was three heaping teaspoons of sugar and almost an inch of milk. And this was in a coffee cup, not a mug. By the time of my confrontation with my grandmother, I was down to less than half as much of each, and by the time I was a teenager I was drinking it black. But no, the sugar wasn't the issue either, to my grandmother. It was just one of her notions, with which we all had to deal. :P

Angie