Legal Age for Alcohol

[Matheous-2]

Someone today told me it is legal in the UK for children of SIX years old upwards to be given alcohol in their parents home!!!! Can anyone verify this?

[NazNomad]

"...and my dad's always doing it to the dummys of toddlers when they come round to tea. "

What do their parents think?

[mollykins]

They can't do much when the toddler in question is usually my dad's grandchild, I remember my auntie keeping her beady eyes on him one time, making sure he didn't do it to one of my cousins though . . . .

[sandyRoe]

They must think he's a man who believes in the adage : Children should be seen... Get them tipsy and they'll sleep through the afternoon.

[ummmm]

Sandy - That's why we don't encourage them. Wait until they have a job...!!

[mike11111]

What words of wisdom! Children should be seen and not heard.

[mollykins]

pinki, she did when my dad did it to her older child, so she was making sure he didn't do it again!

[sandyRoe]

You're right, Ummm. If they can't afford to buy their round they've no business drinking.

[ummmm]

True true :-)

[mollykins]

They're 6 now, but were 3 at the time, and last year, their little brother was 2 and a half and came round our house for the first time, and had tea but my auntie made sure he couldn't give him any alcohol.

[joggerjayne]

In France (unlike in England) children at the table are generally given a glass of watered down wine, from a similar sort of age (6 ish).

And, guess what ... in France (unlike in England) alcohol is seen as something to enjoy in convivial company, rather than as a way of getting slaughtered on a Saturday night.

Now ... I just need to check if my goddaughter and her pal need another G&T.

[mike11111]

Jogger, exactement!

[hc4361]

Yeah yeah

http://www.timesonlin...ll/article1073904.ece

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7783979.stm

http://www.guardian.c...-binge-drinking-death

The high premature death rate of French men is largely due to alcohol abuse
http://www.marininsti...y/french_drinking.htm

I've seen French youngsters on the razz in France and it's not a pretty sight. No better, no worse than our own youngsters.

[joggerjayne]

Newspapers can find stories and statistics for anything.

Do the French have the same unfortunate international reputation for drunkenness on holiday as the English ?

[hc4361]

The French tend not to holiday en masse in typical British sunshine hot spots. They are quite content to holiday in France.

[joggerjayne]

The first two paragraphs of The Times' article say that the problems are seen to be due to the French adopting the English attitude to drinking.

Which reinforces the argument ...

Traditional French approach ... no problems.

English approach ... problems.

French adopting English approach ... French now have problems.

So presumably, it would have worked better the other way round ... if WE had adopted THEIR attitudes.

[hc4361]

Even during WWI France was trying to reduce alcohol consumption because they feared drunkenness was affecting output.
Not just France, for the sake of fairness, but Britain and Italy too.

The UK has always had a culture of drinking alcohol to excess, since before Roman times, but other countries aren't any better. Looking at our history it is interesting to see how and why this developed.

[joggerjayne]

Escapism ?

[mollykins]

Being partly french, my dad brought me up with alcohol like that either with watered down stuff or if it was dry, with lemonade in it. . . .