by Ashley Muchemore

Created on: January 22, 2008

"WHAT in the world are you giving our child?" Needless to say my mother was startled as she walked into the kitchen to find me cautiously sipping her frozen mudslide, my father sitting to my right. I was about seven years old when I first tasted alcohol, and it was not my favorite drink by any means. I preferred my chocolate milk and orange juice over the sharp taste of alcohol that made my throat burn when I swallowed. However, these first taste-tests gave me a realistic approach to alcohol that would stay with me through my teenage years. When I was a freshman in high school and I began to learn about the parties and other kids my age drinking, all I could remember thinking was "what exactly do these kids LIKE about the taste of alcohol? The last time I tried it I hated it, and I'm in no hurry to taste it again." This pre-determined concept about the taste of alcohol continued to stay with me through the rest of my teenage years. Sure, like any teen, I tried alcohol again at New Years and random graduation parties. But the alcohol was still harsh on my throat and made my head spin and so I continued to stay away from it. I fully believe that being exposed to alcohol at a young age kept me from needing to experiment and taste-test different booze, and therefore kept me from becoming a heavy drinker like many teens today.

There is nothing wrong at all with giving a few sips of alcohol to our kids at a young age. Alcohol abuse is on a substantial rise from when we were all kids, and unless we want our children to succumb to the pressure of experimenting with alcohol at parties or while driving, we need to make sure that their first experiences are from home. The more a child is exposed to alcohol at home, the less he or she will feel the need to go out and experiment with the booze and hard liquors on the streets or at school. Now I'm not saying to give a youngster a glass of wine or a can of Bud Light every night after dinner, but a few sips occasionally throughout their childhood cannot do any harm. To prove my point, in England, where there is no drinking age or laws, alcohol abuse and alcohol related crimes are substantially lower than those in the United States. Children in England grow up everyday exposed to alcohol and its effects and therefore do not feel the need to experiment or get drunk on a daily basis. Drinking is a leisurely activity, not something to be done every day for the sake of getting drunk. In America, alcohol abuse and alcohol-related crimes are a huge issue, due in large part to the fact that most American children and teens are strictly forbidden to have anything to do with alcohol. Therefore, during their rebellious phases, teens are drinking heavily and causing danger to themselves and others under the influence of alcohol.

If we bring up the next generation of teenagers being comfortable with alcohol, I'd say our world has truly evolved. Instead of worrying if our teens are going to drink and drive or act rebelliously with alcohol every night, we can focus on the other troubles in our world such as drugs and gangs. Give your child a taste-test of alcohol and see how it truly effects his drinking decisions as a teenager in a positive way.

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