Edmond couple arrested under city's ‘social host' ordinance

[FritterGirl]

ah....I forgot to include this. Actually, my point is that providing alcohol at home INCREASES these accidents. This is a tad long, but it's an interesting article which makes my point.

"Tis the Season
Allowing Holiday Drinking by Teens Sets Dangerous Precedent
by Stephen Wallace, M.S.Ed.

It is also widely believed that "teaching teens to drink responsibly" to celebrate a holiday or other important event will demystify alcohol and lead to more thoughtful, less destructive behavior.

Wishful thinking, through and through.
In truth, teens who are allowed to drink alcohol at home are significantly more likely to drink with their friends. "Even if only on special occasions?" asked an incredulous mother during a recent presentation of the new research results. Yes, even if only on special occasions.

But influence cuts two ways. By allowing underage drinking during the holidays, adults deprive teens of the unambiguous, common sense guidelines they need to make good choices all year long.

It is clear that parents who talk with their teens about underage drinking, set expectations for behavior, and enforce consequences for violating the rules are significantly less likely to have children who use alcohol.

I call bullhockey on this completely!!! And I'm living proof.

Despite years of zero-tolerance messages from government and prevention groups, many parents choose to allow their children to drink at home while stressing themes of moderation and responsibility.

One supporter of this harm-reduction approach to alcohol education is psychologist Stanton Peele. "Every civilized non-psychotic human being has offered their children alcohol," said Peele. "We always approach appetitive behaviors in a moralistic and restrictive way: don't do drugs, don't smoke, don't drink."
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Stanton Peele is a MORON........M O R O N

Again, bullhockey! I am living proof that "learned behaviour" based on learning in moderation absolutely WORKS. I grew up as an only child, so probably spent the greater part of my "social" times around adults.

From a very young age, I was allowed "sips" of wine at family and holiday celebrations. I was also allowed to order "Shirley Temple" or "Virgin Daquiri" type drinks whenever I went out with my parents.

As I grew older, I was then given my own small glass of wine at special occasions, and was served wine in restaurants, or could sneak sips of wine from my parents' glasses if I was not served.

Of course, throughout all of this, I was also educated about how alcohol, when consumed in moderation, could be an enjoyable thing. I was also told about how easily alcohol could be abused, and had a grandfather who was a perfect example of that (a raging alcoholic).

I was never told "don't drink," or "don't do drugs." Instead, I was told I would face these pressures, and that it was okay to be different and NOT give in just to be popular. Truth be told, I was never the most popular kid in high school. In fact, I was a bit of a nerd who hung out with the smart kids. Regardless, only once did I ever get in "trouble" with alcohol in high school. And then after about 3 bouts with binge-drinking in college, my alcohol consumption has pretty much become limited to a glass of wine 1-2 times a week. It's been that way for about 15 years now.

I was also never given a curfew. Instead, I was told, "you need to come in at an hour you deem reasonable. If you come in at an hour that is unreasonable, then a curfew will be enforced." As it turned out, I was usually in by 11, and certainly always before midnight. On occasion, if I decided to spend the night at a girlfriend's house, all I had to do was call.

I guess in my household, I was taught to make adult decisions at a young age - including alcohol, and in my case, it worked.

I agree the method might not work for everybody, but I disagree that it should be dismissed so readily. I think much depends on the family and the child.

Research shows a direct correlation between the raising of drinking ages in the US and bad drinking habits. There are many and complex reasons for this. However, there is a significant body of research that supports the idea that kids will learn more responsible habits if they begin drinking in a family setting.

There is lots of data to back this view, here is one:

Drinking with Parents is “Protective” of Alcohol Abuse
by David J. Hanson, Ph.D.

Drinking alcohol with parents “may help teach them responsible drinking habits or extinguish some of the ‘novelty’ or ‘excitement’ of drinking” according to senior researcher Dr. Kristie Long Foley of the School of Medicine at Wake Forest University. Dr. Foley describes drinking with parents as a “protective” behavior.

In addition to teaching young people both how to drink and how not to drink, these groups avoid stigmatizing alcohol and strictly prohibit the abuse of alcohol.

This was exactly my parents' approach, and I intend to raise my children in the same manner.

That being said, I would never offer alcohol to any other child without their parents' express permission.