Writer's Block: Young and driven

[charisstoma]

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Legal drinking age is 21 here in Texas. But I was raised up north.

I was raised in a State where minors could be given alcohol by their parents. Intent was that the parents supervised so kids learned how to drink responsibly.
This was also during a time when the drinking age was 18. They've raised that to 21 now.

My parents would come home and each have a beer which we kids would line up to get a 'sip' of. *smiles* Amazing how when you put your hand up to help steady the can it can retard tipping the can back down and you can get more then 'just a sip'.

Results:
I don't drink often and never if I'm driving at all because I'm not able to function well enough under even a little of the influence to be responsible for the important people and activities in my life.

I agree with how I was raised. Under a parent's supervision children can be introduced to alcohol and taught how to use it responsibly if at all. There is no great mystique to it.
21 seems like a good age but I think too, if you are capable enough to take on adult responsibility like putting your life on the line for your country then you should be capable enough to drink responsibly. If you can't be responsible then expect to earn the full punishment and don't whine about impaired judgement making you do something you wouldn't normally do. It's the same as driving while exhausted enough you shouldn't be behind the wheel or on allergy/prescribed medications.

Comments

[angelabenedetti.livejournal.com]

My family also let us drink whenever we wanted -- alcohol and coffee both. I literally don't remember my first drink of either one. I remember having wine with dinner if I wanted before I was old enough for school, and just a couple of years later having cocktails before dinner if I wanted. And if I wanted a screwdriver heavy on the OJ and light on the vodka, I had to ask for it that way, otherwise I got a regular drink.

For all of that, I don't drink now. I can't stand the taste of alcohol, even a tiny bit in a mixed drink or punch is revolting. I drank the occasional glass of whatever as a kid because it was a grown-up thing to do and I wanted to do what the adults were doing. After even Irish coffees failed to mask the taste of the alcohol, I finally decided at around seventeen or so that this was stupid, I had nothing to prove, and I quit trying. I don't drink at all now.

A funny: as I said, I could also have coffee whenever I wanted, if it was around, and how much sugar and/or milk I put in was up to me. I remember staying over at my grandparents' as a kid -- I think I was eight or nine this one time -- and one morning I got up and wanted a cola. My grandmother said no, that it was "too early in the morning" for a cola. I could have all the coffee I wanted, though. [headdesk] Ridiculous, but that was my grandmother. [wry smile]

Angie

[charisstoma.livejournal.com]

I know there are people out there who would consider that giving alcohol to a child to be abusive. And really if your parents are alcoholics then how much supervision are they going to give to pass along good responsible judgement. I suppose that you could see the type of person you don't want to become.

But my upbringing worked for me and it worked for you and it has worked for my kids who are both old enough to make those choices legally.

*SMILES* I didn't think there was any time when it would be too early for a cola. Then again *coughs* sugar *coughs*

[angelabenedetti.livejournal.com]

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

[charisstoma.livejournal.com]

We were suppose to drink healthy things like milk for our strong bones and teeth. Soft drinks were rare in our house. Which following our theory that started this thread explains why as an adult I was abusing Pepsi, 6 cans a day until my body said enough. It's hard to argue with a need for all the things Pepto Bismo provides relief from.
Came to liking coffee late through a discovered love of chocolate covered coffee beans and just in time.