Allowing 12yo to celebrate with small glass of champagne?

[Anonymous]

A sip, fine, a glass, no. Get non-alcoholic wine.

[Anonymous]

You've got to be kidding me. Hell no.

[Anonymous]

I'd let them have a sip if they asked but I wouldn't actively offer one.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand why you would do this. It is one thing if the kid asks to taste it. But really weird to pour a glass for a 12 yo. And even weirder to crowdsource this strange decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:future alcoholic in training

Disagree! I always had a small glass at Thanksgiving or Christmas growing up. It made alcohol non-taboo. You know who did turn out to be alcoholics? Kids whose parents kept wine/liquor locked away and made a big deal about it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:future alcoholic in training

Disagree! I always had a small glass at Thanksgiving or Christmas growing up. It made alcohol non-taboo. You know who did turn out to be alcoholics? Kids whose parents kept wine/liquor locked away and made a big deal about it!

Everyone I know who is an alcoholic started drinking very young. Doesn’t seem to matter if parents were strict or not. There is some genetic component and I wouldn’t give a young kid alcohol. Brains are still forming and we do not understand what triggers an addiction.

[Anonymous]

Why would you do this? Just don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ridiculous question OP. Grow up. Be a real parent.

I don’t think it’s ridiculous. It’s not ridiculous at all in Europe! We are Jewish and recently started allowing our 13yo to partake in wine during Seder. Feel free to judge me to feel better about your rigid parenting.

A once a year religious ritual where wine is an actual component of the ritual is obviously a very different thing than gratis, hotel provided champagne on vacation. Catholic children are able to drink a sip of Communion wine from age 8 or 9. No one takes issue with that.

This is hilarious. So, it’s in poor taste, kids should never do it, you’re a terrible mother…wait! Religious? Totally fine.

+1000

I’m trying to figure out how the alcohol in the religious ceremony is different from the alcohol that would be in OP’s daughters glass…

I think you are being purposefully obtuse. Wine in a religious ceremony has a specific meaning. In my husband’s belief system, it’s not even wine once the priest blesses it for communion, it’s the literal blood of Jesus.

Wine for a celebration - wedding, graduation, “hooray we’re on vacation”, “cheers to grandma’s 100th birthday”, etc. is just that - a celebration. It’s still a celebration whether everyone has a glass to toast with or not. It’s still a celebration, even if the liquid in the glass is not bubbly or not alcoholic.

Also OP just said “hey we get a free bottle of wine” which is different IMO from “we’ll be attending my French cousin’s wedding in France”. If it was a family wedding I’d probably think it made sense for OP to follow the local family’s lead - “when in France . . .” However OP is just implying that somehow the 12 yr old would feel left out if not included in the toast. Personally I think that’s a dumb reason to serve a tween alcohol on the cusp of the teen years. There are A LOT of things OP’s daughter will feel like she’s ready for and will complain about being left out / restricted from in the next 6 years. Waiting until a kid is older and more mature and managing their disappointment is part of parenting.

Whether the 12yr old is asking for alcohol or OP is just anticipating her own discomfort in denying her barely pubescent child the adult privilege of alcohol, I feel like OP needs to buckle up and work on some parenting skills before she has a full blown teenager.

[Anonymous]

Martinelli’s sparkling apple juice or schweppes raspberry ginger ale, or a mocktail in a glass.

[Anonymous]

I let my 11 yo DD have a sip of champagne. She hated it. She's 16 now and won't touch alcohol based on how gross she thought it was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
We're French and our kids have had sips ever since they were little.

However:

1. Never a glass, or even a small glass. Alcohol is not good for anyone's health.

2. Now they're teens and our oldest is allowed to drink for real in France (not here, because he's not 21 yet), they don't drink. They've tasted lots of things, they didn't like it, so they politely refuse.

I don't quite understand the intense debates this generates on DCUM. I hope real world Americans don't care that much. It's like the intense debate around prepping for the Cogat on the AAP thread. DCUM parents are very high-strung about certain topics!

What is more likely is that threads with a topic like this one draw in those who have strong opinions and/ or are high strung, so obviously does not represent typical DCUM parents or American parents. Topics with intense debate are examples of the replies of people who feel intensely about the topic but not all of DCUM. You really have to understand the dynamics at play on a forum like this and not make assumptions about what many people do or believe based on threads here. The average parent who doesn't care about this topic will not reply at all.

[Anonymous]

Sure give him a sip of champagne, then have him back the car into the garage or give him a puff of your weed or let him stay home alone one night, it's all just prepping a 12 yr old for adulthood, right?

[Anonymous]

A glass of alcohol could very well make your child sick. Good way to start off your vacation, with alcohol poisoning. Great parenting!

[Anonymous]

Trashy, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I let my 11 yo DD have a sip of champagne. She hated it. She's 16 now and won't touch alcohol based on how gross she thought it was.

12 year old me certainly wouldn't have thought champagne was celebratory. Just gross.