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[quote=Anonymous][quote]DD (6) has started to ask to taste drinks, etc. What are some good pointers on this? Do some of you only drink when the kids aren't around? Or is it better to make it seem normal to them and not a big deal? How do you answer questions you have? Did your alcohol habits change as your kids got closer to high school/college (when they may be offered alcohol or want to try it)? (As in, did you decrease drinking in front of them as they got older?) [/quote]

My boyfriend owns a string of bars, so we're obviously an alcohol-friendly family. There are four kids - 23, 20, 11, and 8. At age six if one of ours asked to taste we said sure. They always took a sip, made a face, and handed it back*. We have no problem drinking in front of the kids. My drinking habits did not change as my kids got older. In our circles of family and friends we all handle kids drinking the same way: once you've come back from being away for college, you can have your own drink. Before that, you can only taste out of other people's glasses. The kids have seen example after example of responsible drinking. They've seen adults turn down offers of wine (I'm on antibiotics, I'm driving tonight, I need to be sharp for a test/meeting tomorrow morning), they've seen people take keys away from others (Hey, let me drive you home and Jay will drive your car behind us), they've seen me bake chocolate booze cake or cook with wine and they know alcohol cooks out but leaves the flavor.

IMO, it's better for them to see responsible drinking than no drinking at all. No drinking at all does not simulate real life.

*The exception to the little kids having their own glass: my son, the oldest, got into making alcoholic milkshakes at one point. Like vanilla bourbon and stuff like that. If the little kids tasted and liked it, we'd let them have their own shot glass of milk shake. [/quote]

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