Did you drink as a teenager

[Tiggeroo]

and did/do your teens. I just got done teaching a week of junior health class on teen drinking. The films scare me to death. Since I teach at a highschool I have heard it all. My sons have a large group of friends who spend alot of time at my house and they talk all the time.
I worry a good deal about this. I have a 18yo dd and twin sons who will soon be 16. I feel fairly sure that my dd has not had alcohol, and even more sure that she has never consumed to excess. I feel the same about her small core group of friends.
I know my sons have never been drunk (I have more control over their activities) but can't say for sure they have never had a drink. I know that some of their friends have gone thru a period of drinking or drug use as freshman. My sons weren't friends with them at the time but they are pretty outspoken about this in their youth group. My kids are good kids, who I believe try to do the right thing. Both of my sons believe I am overprotective, and perhaps make too big a deal about these issues.
This summer they will want and will have a good deal more freedom. They will be hanging out in town with their friends. I generally know where they are, and always speak to the parents when they are spending the night or going to their house at night. I work, but not alot and there is always somebody here keeping an eye on things. But now some of their friends drive, and kids can make stupid mistakes.
How do you handle these issues with your kids? Do you really think it's possible to get the average kid to age 21 without drinking, ever?

 

[Serena]

I had a few drinks when I was a teenager, and a few glasses of wine. I rarely drink at all and really have never drank much.

 

[browneyes]

One of my friend's mom gave us a sip of a wine cooler in our mid teens. The night I graduated high school, one of my friends did her best to get me drunk (I'd never really had anything before that night, I had a lot to drink that night, and never did get drunk). I've never been much of a drinker. Being a child of an abusive alcoholic made me not want to be that kind of monster. I rarely drink-maybe a wine cooler or a glass of Zinfindel once every 6 months or so. I'm not much fun to be around if I drink more than that. I get extremely quiet and get in a mood for days afterwards.

 

[JoeThaNo1Stunna]

It's pretty unrealistic to expect kids not to drink before 21.

 

[dizneenut]

I had an occasional wine cooler and that was it.
I drink a margarita or a daquiri every once in awhile and that is about it.

 

[Tiggeroo]

I definitely drank too much in high school and early college. When I became pregnant with my first child I looked around at all the alcoholics in my family and knew I never wanted her to grow up in that kind of home. My husband and I are very occasional social drinkers now. We may have a drink when out to dinner, or a beer at a barbeque. Maybe an occasional beer in the evening in the home. I could probably count on one hand the number of drinks we have in a year. We both come from families with many drinking problems and have told our children repeatedly about this history.
It was so much easier when they were toddlers.

 

[DonnaS]

Yes, I drank as a teenager. Not really until my senior year and not all that often. I didn't hang with the "party" kids, but a smaller group of kids who I worked with. We would occasionally go to parties.

I rarely drink now.

My brother hang with a Baptist church group in high school and never drank in high school. He's an alcoholic now. Ironic, huh?

 

[ASFCurly]

I had maybe a sip or two before I turned 21, but then again, that is all I have had since also as I really don't like alcohol.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Joe, I agree. So accepting this, how do you keep them safe. My kids know they can call me any time for a ride no questions asked. I have told them this over and over.
After the movies I saw in this health class alcohol poisoning worries as much as the driving. Also, with a dd I worry about other problems associated with alcohol.

 

[JoeThaNo1Stunna]

I would always feel awkward if I had to ask my parents for a ride, instead I would tell you to let them spend the night at a friends instead of driving home.

 

[Kirk]

When ever I could get it! Beer, wine or whiskey, weed (etc.), 8-track rock-n-roll and cruisin' for chicks! But we rarely found 'um! LOL! For awhile there a few friends and I went on a health kick and quit drinking and red meat. But our crazy diet allowed any drug you wanted! I was a basket case by the time I finished HS! Took a couple years of REALITY, Christ/Church and a good woman to bring me around. Alot of my friends weren't as lucky!

 

[kiddo]

yup, on plenty of occusions i've indulged in alchoholic beverages... and yup it was fun....

now i can buy a six pack on Heiney and it will stay in the fridge for 6 months.... oh well i guess we all grow up sometime...

my DD11 and DS10 are still kinda young so i have at least a couple of years before i have to worry about this...

 

[ScarletIndigo]

The only time in my life that I've ever been drunk was when I was barely 12 years old. I was so young, in fact, that I had no idea that the awful feeling I had the next day was a hangover. I didn't find out about those until a few years later.

Looking back, that was probably the best and worst thing that ever happened to me. The worst because it was a HORRIBLE feeling -- the loss of control, the hangover the day after, everything about the experience. But it was the best thing that could have happened, because I learned that alcohol (in moderation) is acceptable, but getting plastered is something I never want to experience again.

Why did I try drinking when I was so young? For the same reason that I tried smoking -- because it was taboo. It was mysterious, it was cool, it made me feel "grown-up". Had alcohol and smoking not been a hush hush thing in my household, chances are it wouldn't have held any appeal for me.

I've always heard that kids in countries where there is no legal drinking age are much less likely to abuse alcohol. When you're ten years old and having wine with your dinner, where's the mystique in that? Thankfully after the smoking and drinking episode (which I confessed to the next day, when my brain felt like it was going to explode!) my parents' reaction could not have been better. They understood that my actions were merely born out of curiousity, and from then on they were much more open about talking about the more "taboo" things in life. I was allowed sips from my mother's wine cooler from time to time, or my dad would let me taste some beer (which I hated). And from then on, the taboo intrigue of drinking was gone.

I've never had a single drop over my "limit" since then, and I'm proud of that fact. Since I turned 21, it's been a mixed drink at a club, or a wine cooler with dinner. But without a reason for drinking to make me feel "cool", there's no reason to indulge. That's the biggest mistake a lot of people make, I think. The more something is considered "taboo", the more kids want to try it for themselves. Just be open and honest with your kids. Drinking is an adult activity that should be a privelage with age. But there's no reason to lock up the liquor and count the beer bottles in the fridge every night. The word "curiousity" is practically synonymous with the word "child", so just expect some curiousity but trust your kids and they'll trust you with the truth of what they do when you're not around. I tell my mother everything -- we're like best friends. And it's only because she recognized that I wouldn't always be perfect, but I would try my hardest to do the right thing and make her proud in the end.

 

[joeokw]

Yes I did... when I was younger 18 was the legal age to drink. I drank with my friends at age 16-17 I could pass for 18 easily in those days... unruly facial hair was ok... We drank heavier stuff at parties..

 

[tiggerlover]

I am not proud, but yes I did drink in High School. It wasn't because I liked it, it was because it "was the thing to do". I actually drank more in HS than I have in my adult life. I do not like beer or wine anymore, so if I do drink it is a frozen drink like a mud slide or a something like that and it is very, very rare, I have yet to have a drink this year, that is how rare it is. Since I like frozen drinks I usually only have them in the summer time.

When I was in HS (early 80's) it was common for kids to drink, even the goody-two-shoe kids, I am not sure what the atmosphere is in HS these days. Back then I would say it would be unusual for someone to reach 21 without having a drink (also back then the drinking age was different), today I am not sure.

 

[anotherboardnposter]

Thrice in the time period between 1995 and 1997...No more after that.

There are times when I want to drink (and I'm actually thinking of getting a bottle of Kahlua as my birthday present this year...I'll be turning 21), but then I'm tempted back to the straight edge side of things.

Quite frankly, I think alcohol tastes like pee (Well, I can't use the word I really want to use...This is a family board, after all).

Eh, who am I kidding? I don't want to drink...I'll pass on the booze. If you've got any caffeinated drinks, I'll take those, though.

Sincerely,

John "anotherboardnposter" Kilduff...

I guess Vanilla Coke is MY booze.

 

[wdwnutze]

Unfortunately, I had more than my share in HS. Partying just seemed to be the thing to do. I very rarely drink now as an adult. I just realized I can have as much fun without it.
My ds is now 19 and I have been telling him the effects alcohol can have on him since he was about 13. There is aloholism on the paternal side of the family and that makes him more prone to it. I know he has consumed alcohol. I think it is part of being a teenager. I definately don't agree with it and he knows that. There are many parents that allow the kids to drink in their homes as long as they leave the keys and don't drive home. Again, I definately don't go along with that! I think open communication is the best thing to have with your kids. My son was always told to call us if he needed a ride and there would be NO questions asked that night. We would discuss it the next day but that night would be question free.

 

[CamColt]

During my high school years yes, I did drink. Not much or on a regular basis, but yeah we had a few incidents. The summer after I graduated(I was 17) was when we really started partying.

 

[Karel]

Never drank in HS but once I hit college, big time drinking. I drink less now but like to indulge every now and again. I'm going away with friends next week and I know it will be major party time.

 

[honeywolf7]

When I was 18, I had a boyfriend who was 22 and we drank wine coolers together. I got tipsy for the first time when I was 18 (4 wine coolers) and I can count the number of times that I've been drunk on one hand.