Did you drink as a teenager

[Tony-NJ]

my friends and I drank on occasion on the weekends. I got so sick one time though, but did that stop me? Nah! Most kids will be kids, I think i Turned out fine. But as said above, some kids just don't grow up! It's pretty hard to say that a kid will not have a drink before they turn 21. Actually, when I was 15, on halloween, we got drunk, I couldn't find the key hole, well my father was there and opened the door and I fell in!! . Well that stopped me for a while, after my father got through with me!!! - Now I drink on occasion.

 

[imgoingtodisney]

yup, started in 10th grade down by the railroad tracks.
And yes I do need to work at keeping my drinking under control now. DH is a bigger drinker than I am so Im even more concerned about DS.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

Yep, starting the summer before my senior year. My parents had no clue. I drank only on weekends and rarely excessively. That started in college.

These days, I have 2 or 3 drinks on the weekend and that's about it.

 

[grinningghost]

I drank in high school - alot. I really fell in with the wrong crowd and I'm not proud of it. I can happily say that my own DD will be 14 next week and so far is squeaky clean - she's too busy with extracurricular activities to drink anyway. That was my problem, too much time on my hands in high school - and it was also a different time - most kids partied back then.

Now, I don't drink at all.

 

[caitycaity]

i sure did. i didn't turn 21 until 1/2 way through my senior year of college.

i do know of one person who didn't drink until they were 21 and they do now, but i think that is rare. i know a couple others who do not drink ever, but that is due to their religious beliefs.

honestly, i don't think it is such a big deal if kids drink while underage (especially while in college) as long as it doesn't get out of hand to the point where it starts affecting their health or their grades.

i don't think drinking before you are 21 is any kind of predictor of "success" or "failure" later in life. i know people who were total partiers in college who are now super-successful and people who were teetotalers in college who are now not doing so well. c'est la vie.

 

[nkjzmom]

I never drank in HS....and I expect my children not to.

 

[christinou]

I grew up in France, where drinking is not seen the same way as in the US, we always had a sip of wine with dinner, and alcohol was never a big deal like it is here, so no I never got drunk as a teenager or drank, there never seem to be a reason to.
I went to college in the US, and a lot of my friends got drunk regularly, I never had an interest in it, I will drink wine once in a while, and am teaching my kids that wine is a nice complement to a good meal. They are too young yet, we will see what will happen, but I do believe that communication is the key.

 

[piratesmate]

I didn't drink as a teen. After I was married, DH & I would occasionally have wine in the house. That stopped when DS was young & realized what the bottle was. He was upset about it & we felt that it wasn't setting a good example.

My parents never drank either. We always thought it was a religious/example thing with them . . . until we all turned 21. Then they'd occasionally drink & they confessed that it was as much lack of $$ as example when we were young that kept them from drinking.

DS, now 22, never drank & neither did his friends. He was kind of excited at turning 21 to at least try it. Since then he hasn't been interested. I've seen pictures of he & his fiance at dinners & wedding receptions & she'll have a glass of wine but he won't. He takes his job as "designated driver" very seriously.

Deb

 

[December99]

Like tiggerlover I'm a product of the HS in the 80's and drank like a fish. I started when I was 14/15 (around sophomore in high school) and it was EVERY weekend!!! From that year until about 2 years after I graduated when I got pregnant with my dd....so for about 5 years of my life. It even affected my life when I started in college at a community college - going out partying and having fun during the night when I could (I was out on my own) was more important. And drinking to not being able to count how many was the thing to do. I know there were nights we would have someone get us several cases and see who could drink the most - by the time I was a senior in high school I could outdrink most of the guys or keep up with them and some nights (usually a Sat night) it was a case on my own. By that point I wasn't even "drunk" because my body was getting to use to what was being put in it. And it was a nightly thing to go and drink at least a 6 pack. If I didn't drink on the weeknights the weekends were Friday and Sat night drinking and hanging out. We'd go to country roads, farm fields, cemetaries - and I'd be out until 2, 3, 4, 5am. Some weekends not even sleeping until Sunday night.

Since I had my dd 13 years ago - I think I have gotten drunk twice. I've had an occasional beer or wine cooler or glass of wine but nothing like I use to be. I did get pretty looped at DISCon one night this past December but not anything like I had been in high school. Do I worry about my dd? Sure I do. Do I talk to her about the consequences - YOU BET! I do have to say that in my drinking binges I did slow down a little bit my senior year in high school when I just missed flipping the car on a curve - my brother was with me and was only 14. I knew then this life was not good and I needed to change or someone was going to die. I remember going home that night (once we got home) and crying because of the thought that I could have killed my brother that night. Did I still drink after that? Yup. But not like I had been.

And like some others - why did I? Because I could get away with it - my parents had very little discipline over me. I ran my life and they dealt with it. Do I feel bad because of that and what I put them through - YOU BET! It was also the thing to do in the 80's high school. If you didn't you were a nerd! Or if you didn't at least go and hang out with the drinkers - you were a nerd. But you have to understand I grew up in a town of 800 people and a high school of about 120. Everyone knew everyone and everyone was friendly and great to everyone!

 

[Planogirl]

I drank while I was in high school, mostly beer or wine. When I got older I loved white Russians and Canadian whiskey. Now I drink very rarely, an occasional Margarita or Canadian is all that I ever want and only once every few months or so.

 

[ead79]

Believe it or not, I have never had a single drop to drink. I am now 23. At first I didn't drink because of religious conviction (based on it being illegal in the US to drink before age 21). Now, I simply choose not to drink. I have always been happy with my decision. The only "alcohol" I've ever had is alcohol in desserts (like Zebra domes and tiramisu).

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

As of tomorrow I am no longer a teen (WHOO HOO Turning 18! ) and I have never had anything to drink.

 

[skuttle]

I didn't drink too much in high school...really just prom night and graduation night.

I did drink a good bit when I got to college. I think I drank more before I turned 21 than after I was "legal".

Now, I only drink every now and then. Well..not for the past 7 months since I'm pregnant. Now, I really only drink while tailgating before football games and if we have people over for a BBQ or something like that...and it's definitely NOT to the same extent as I did in college. Just doesn't interest me anymore to spend lots of money to feel like crap the next day!

 

[Tiggeroo]

Believe me, in the high schools drug use is down, but alcohol is the drug of choice. Every weekend are major parties and kids seem to have more money then when I was in high school so it's not just beer. If I knew my sons might drink a beer or two here or there, or sometimes drink a bit too much, but never get in a car with a drunk driver or drive themselves, and never risk alcohol poisoning I wouldn't worry. But I know most of their team mates on their sports teams have driven drunk and much too fast.
I really wish we had the European model of alcohol. I would rather see my sons have a beer or two around the house or wine with dinner while they are here so that they could learn their limits safely.
Just remember some of the stupid things you did as a teen, and picture your kids doing them. Remember that every senior class loses somebody to this.

 

[snoopy]

I started drinking wine when I was about 13 or so. Its an Italian tradition to serve wine with meals, my parents drank a glass of wine every night with dinner. We have a different approach to drinking alcohol, I guess, my parents thought if they de-emphasized the mystery of alcohol, and set the example that wine is something to be enjoyed, savored, if you will, that none of us would want to go overboard when faced with peer pressure.

In my case, it worked. I've never been a big drinker, I have never been drunk (tipsy a few times, never drunk), and I still drink wine with my meals.

Different strokes, I guess. I plan to bring my boys up as my parents did me - wine is for sipping and enjoying, as is any alcoholic beverage - not for guzzling and getting drunk. I won't treat it as something forbidden, but certainly clue them in to the dangers of drinking while driving and underage binge drinking.

 

[The Godfather]

Quite so.

 

[BabyLove99]

I'll be 18 in 3 weeks and no I have not, do not, and will not drink. I just don't see what's so appealing about alcohol, not my thing I guess.

 

[mtemm]

yes. I had my first drink when I was not quite 16. Champagne...yum. I had an older boyfriend (19) and we used to go to restaurants and order it and they always served us, even though the drinking age was 21. I probably looked about 14. I'm 36 now and that just boggles my mind.

I didn't drink often, but did occasionally. My parents had no clue. When I was 17 my dad ended up going into rehab for alcoholism. It stopped me cold. We went thru group counseling at the center he was at and listening to the drug and alcohol addicts there scared the heck out of me...especially the teens that were there. I have never done drugs, and didn't start drinking again until sophomore in college. Went thru a period where I drank too much, and ended up knocking it off. Now I'll have a glass of wine or a drink when we go out, but I haven't been drunk or had a hangover in so long...probably 10 years.

My sisters had the opposite reaction to my father's treatment. My younger one (15 when dad went into treatment) started drinking like a fish and doing some not-so-smart things. The older one (19) continued to drink.

I knew very few people in high school who had never tasted alcohol.

 

[Tiggeroo]

What amazes me is the drinking the hs athletes do. Especially the runners, who are usually so concerned about performance. There is a bit of a myth among them that alcohol, especially beer will help their performance. My sons friends are so serious about their running, and have big goals but don't see alcohol as hampering this at all.

 

[mtemm]

As of tomorrow I am no longer a teen (WHOO HOO Turning 18!

um...since when is 18 not a teen? Just curious.

Happy Birthday!