Let underage children drink alcohol? Probably out of the question for many mothers! But what moves some parents to allow it, three British women revealed to "dailymail".
As mothers, we all do our best to raise our children to be responsible people with a stable sense of self, who can find their way around the world and are not so easily thrown off course. The methods we choose to do this can, however, differ greatly. While some rely on control, others rely on trust. And while many issue bans, others give their permission – such as the British Clare Matthews, who allows her children to drink alcohol.
Clare let her two-year-old try Asti
"As a child, since I was ten, I was allowed to drink a glass of wine at Christmas every year, otherwise there was never any alcohol at home," the administrative clerk told dailymail. In her opinion, her parents did not prepare her enough and did not adequately introduce her to alcohol consumption. Binge drinking, drunk sex, party orgies, Clare made all the drinking mistakes that could be made in her youth and into her early 20s. She wants to protect her own children, Ben and Sophie, from this – by letting them drink.
"Sophie tried alcohol for the first time when she was two," dailymail quotes the Briton. "I had a glass of Asti and she pointed to it. I dipped my finger in it, let her taste it and have a mini sip in the expectation that she wouldn't like it – but she wanted more. Of course I said 'no, you You're way too young! '"Six years later, Clare stopped saying that: When her daughter was eight, she poured her her own glass of champagne for the first time. Since then, Sophie has been allowed to have a drink in the presence of her parents if there is an occasion (birthdays, family reunions, etc.). Clare's son Ben doesn't like and doesn't drink alcohol at all, although he should too. Because, according to Clare, bans only trigger children to rebel against it.
In the UK, children are allowed to drink alcohol from five
In Germany, Clare would be punishable as a mother with this educational measure – according to the Youth Protection Act, children are allowed to drink alcohol at 14 at the earliest, but only beer, wine or sparkling wine and if their parents allow it and are there. In Great Britain, however, children from the age of five are officially allowed to drink alcohol privately under the supervision of their parents. And it is apparently not uncommon for parents to exercise this right: surveys show that around half of all parents let their children drink before they are 14.
However, whether this really has the effect intended by Clare Matthews, that children learn to use alcohol responsibly at an early age, is debatable: According to an Australian study, the likelihood that alcohol consumption will degenerate in their teens is in children who started drinking at an early age , significantly higher than with "abstinent" growing up kids. While almost 70 percent of those who were allowed to drink by their parents regularly go overboard, this occurs in "only" 42 percent of the cases of those who were banned from alcohol in their childhood. Experts are also rather skeptical about Clare's method.
"My sons know that alcohol is dangerous"
Nonetheless, like Clare Matthews, 33-year-old Charlotte Jackson sees the cause of her own misconduct and drunkenness as a teen in the fact that her parents forbade her to drink when she was a child. Their sons Joshua (12) and Oliver (11) are therefore allowed to drink cider when the family is grilling or celebrating something, for example. "I would never allow my boys to drink with their buddies if I am not there," quotes "dailymail", "I informed them about the dangers of alcohol and told them about an incident in which my stomach was pumped out had to when I was a teenager. They know alcohol is dangerous. So I'm more concerned that they experiment with drugs than they do with alcohol. "
Christine was allowed to drink herself as a girl – and now allows her children to do so too
In contrast to Clare and Charlotte, TV producer Christine Connor grew up with alcohol herself. First of all, she always got a glass of "children's wine" on Sundays after going to church, later, when she was a teenager, she was allowed to have a drink on certain occasions. It didn't hurt her, says the 55-year-old, which is why she is now doing the same with her five children. The five have been allowed to drink since they were 12. "If you forbid something to children, they want it all the more," says Christine. "I don't mean to say that you should allow them to get drunk. I don't want to see 14-year-olds throw up from alcohol, but it would be naive to think that such a thing never happens. "
Above all, it is important to her that her children trust her and be open with her – and get to know her limits early on. "I'm not worried that your liver could be damaged by early alcohol consumption. Paracetamol could harm you just as much. Later excesses would have much worse effects," says Christine.
Even if it seems strange and questionable to most of us that Clare, Charlotte and Christine let their children drink alcohol at such a young age – we wish them and their kids that this method works for them and that the families have no experience of alcohol abuse or alcohol – make addictions. Since the legal situation in Germany (luckily) relieves us of the question of whether or not we let our twelve-year-olds drink, we of course strongly advise against following them as an example!
Source used: dailymail