Anonymous wrote:Remember those little tupperware containers that were good for things like Salad Dressing if you were packing work lunch? Well, we used to raid my parent's liquor cabinet and fill them up and then go out and drink. We never did the water in the bottle trick because my mom didn't go in the liquor cabinet and my dad drank too much to remember what was in it. They had a lock on it, but we could open it with a pocketknife.

My oldest raided our vodka and did the water trick. But, we never drink vodka so we didn't actually know until he was older and admitted to it. My middle child got out of control. He drank every bit of alcohol in the house, except for red wine which he hates. Good bourbon, expensive champagne (gifts), beer, tequila, gin (a favorite), everything we bought when we were trying new cocktails and only needed like a shot so there was almost a whole bottle left. When we realized this was a problem (and we tend to drink beer and wine and we were in two different households for a few months at the start of the pandemic), we locked everything up. We missed a few bottles (decorative and in the back of the refrigerator). Gone. Then we found him trying to make alcohol out of fruit. (Guess he watched too much OITNB). So, basically, we ended up pouring everything out and stopped drinking ourselves. The good news is that once everything was gone, it was like his craving went away. Also, we sent him for treatment. I still have one more kid to go.

Bravo! I make hard cider out of Aldi juice, 5 gallons at a time. I also brew beer, and make other things. There's something very satisfying about taking the time to fashion your own booze that is oddly satisfying. I dont buy liquor, beer, or wine. I only drink what I make.
I also have chickens in the back yard, so.... I'm consistent at least.

This also applies to prescription painkillers and stimulant medications which have monetary value.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don't have alcohol in the house because we aren't Stepford Families from the 1950s

Well, we have alcohol in the house because we can drink responsibly.

no such thing. just because its legal doesn't mean its safe.

From the OP’s original story, my take on it is this...

Jen’s story is flawed. I think Jen offered Heather the drink (s). Jen’s tolerance was better, her house probably nicer, and she had a parent who was better at advocating for no suspension.

Heather was trying to impress Jen. Because Heather has zero self esteem, she went along with it and drank.

Wondering where they both are today.

PSA:
- Lock your liquor up, if you have teens. It’s only four years.

Remember those little tupperware containers that were good for things like Salad Dressing if you were packing work lunch? Well, we used to raid my parent's liquor cabinet and fill them up and then go out and drink. We never did the water in the bottle trick because my mom didn't go in the liquor cabinet and my dad drank too much to remember what was in it. They had a lock on it, but we could open it with a pocketknife.

My oldest raided our vodka and did the water trick. But, we never drink vodka so we didn't actually know until he was older and admitted to it. My middle child got out of control. He drank every bit of alcohol in the house, except for red wine which he hates. Good bourbon, expensive champagne (gifts), beer, tequila, gin (a favorite), everything we bought when we were trying new cocktails and only needed like a shot so there was almost a whole bottle left. When we realized this was a problem (and we tend to drink beer and wine and we were in two different households for a few months at the start of the pandemic), we locked everything up. We missed a few bottles (decorative and in the back of the refrigerator). Gone. Then we found him trying to make alcohol out of fruit. (Guess he watched too much OITNB). So, basically, we ended up pouring everything out and stopped drinking ourselves. The good news is that once everything was gone, it was like his craving went away. Also, we sent him for treatment. I still have one more kid to go.

Anonymous wrote:OP I think this is drawing a severely disproportionate amount of teetotalers to this question. FWIW we have a ton of booze in the house for 2 adults and we aren't even huge drinkers but we both like trying specialty cocktails so we seem to have a lot of random bottles where you need 1/2 ounce of like 3 kinds of rum or liqueurs or whatever mixed in so it will literally take forever to go through those. We both enjoy wine so we have a rack of wines semi-stocked at most times and a fridge with some seasonal beers in it most of the time. We only drink a couple of drinks each 1 or day days a week at most (we have friends who drink WAY more and I still consider all of them social drinkers, none of them have issues, etc.). My own whole family has wine with dinner, its just what they grew up with in Italy and Spain. It never occurred to me that daily drink was some sort of moral issue?

French person here - it's well known even in wine country France that a daily drink is bad for your health, especially if you're a woman, more so if you're a petite woman. It's not a moral issue, it's a health issue, and when talking about minors, and endangerment issue with legal consequences. My family who used to drink wine at every lunch and dinner stopped when the new research came out. My private high school stopped serving wine to teachers at lunch in the cafeteria.

You don't need to be "addicted" for alcohol to have long-term effects on your health. Your friends who don't have "issues" are not to be imitated, and you should take care as well.

We have bottles out in a glass cupboard and my kids refer to them as “decoration” because we drink hard alcohol so infrequently. Wine and beer in basement fridge but I would remove it all if a kid was having people over, someday later when we can do that safely. my oldest is 13.

I drank some of my dad’s high quality scotch with friends once when I was 17. We poured water in after to raise the content line in the bottle. He said to me a couple days later in private that if I was “going to have some, then have some but don’t put water in after.” I thought I had been so clever—that he would never know—and was so surprised and startled by his remark ( and not having him tell my mom and my not getting in trouble) that I never touched any alcohol it the house ever again.
I miss him.

My kids hate alcohol, and our house is so small (no basement) that even during a party, I'd notice if a kid drank something they shouldn't.

To be frank, I'm not a fan of alcohol either. We don't have any currently in the house.

My parents had a bar in the basement and I remember swigging creme de menthe back in the 80’s when I was like 5.

I wonder if we are all women posting. I am a drinker but still would never dare drink my parents' liquor in high school. However, both my brothers did (I found out later.) Friends' brothers also did. It kind of fits the narrative of women being people pleasers.

Anonymous wrote:OP I think this is drawing a severely disproportionate amount of teetotalers to this question. FWIW we have a ton of booze in the house for 2 adults and we aren't even huge drinkers but we both like trying specialty cocktails so we seem to have a lot of random bottles where you need 1/2 ounce of like 3 kinds of rum or liqueurs or whatever mixed in so it will literally take forever to go through those. We both enjoy wine so we have a rack of wines semi-stocked at most times and a fridge with some seasonal beers in it most of the time. We only drink a couple of drinks each 1 or day days a week at most (we have friends who drink WAY more and I still consider all of them social drinkers, none of them have issues, etc.). My own whole family has wine with dinner, its just what they grew up with in Italy and Spain. It never occurred to me that daily drink was some sort of moral issue?

I’m not a teetotaler. I just don’t keep alcohol in the house, just like I don’t keep candy in the house. There’s a time and place, and it’s not often enough to have at home.

Dh and I do not drink alcohol, due largely to strong family history of alcoholism on both sides. Our house is dry, there has never nor will never be alcohol consumed here. My kids are aware of the family history. If they choose to drink, they won't be obtaining it here.

Anonymous wrote:OP I think this is drawing a severely disproportionate amount of teetotalers to this question. FWIW we have a ton of booze in the house for 2 adults and we aren't even huge drinkers but we both like trying specialty cocktails so we seem to have a lot of random bottles where you need 1/2 ounce of like 3 kinds of rum or liqueurs or whatever mixed in so it will literally take forever to go through those. We both enjoy wine so we have a rack of wines semi-stocked at most times and a fridge with some seasonal beers in it most of the time. We only drink a couple of drinks each 1 or day days a week at most (we have friends who drink WAY more and I still consider all of them social drinkers, none of them have issues, etc.). My own whole family has wine with dinner, its just what they grew up with in Italy and Spain. It never occurred to me that daily drink was some sort of moral issue?

OP, same. We have alcohol in the house because we drink beer/wine on occasion. We don't normally make mixed drinks but we have a bunch of liquor that someone gave us or we used for something and still have it. That stuff doesn't go bad so we keep it and it accumulates. It has never occurred to me until reading this thread that I would need to store it specially.

My parents were the same way, there was no more attention paid to storing alcohol than for other food/drink in the house. As a teen, it never occurred to me to touch it.

Anonymous wrote:This is going to be very much dependent on whether there is a history of alcoholism and alcohol abuse in your family. I know in my family liquor was kept unlocked and free and I had no temptation to use it privately or abuse it. My husband was a teenage alcoholic who drank a fifth of vodka a day by the time he was 19, from his parents and cousin's houses. It's not possible to predict or have one rule about this. Know your family history and know your child.

So, will you have alcohol in your home?