I was also making light of the situation. But I was brought up to question authority, and to protest what i think is wrong.

Ah, I see. I bet you'll find many a college students who drank more for the social acceptance than the alcohol bit of it. Thanks for sharing!

Keep them safe, educate them about the effects and dangers and hope like heck they make the right descisions eh?

My mother knew I was drinking in my teens and that there was nothing she could do to stop me, and she made it known that she didn't like it... I still respect that about her...

But she still had a couple of rules:

Rule 1: She always wanted to know where I was and that I was safe. If I left to go somewhere else I was to call, didn't matter if it was 3 in the morning.

rule 2: If the cops caught me, don't call home

It's hard to know what to do isn't it? I'm torn too...

I started drinking at 13.

My mother doesn't really approve and neither does my father or step-mother, but, whether they let me or not, it's going to happen anyway. They didn't even know I had ever had anything to drink until I was 15.

I stopped drinking almost completely after I joined the fire company because I didn't want to miss any calls.

But I also was, and still am, extremely mature for my age.
They wouldn't let my brother drink in a million years.

I'm not saying I really think it is a good thing, but their not going to stop them from doing it either. I would rather know when my kid will be.

I also thought that I might add that they DO NOT buy any type of alcohol for me.

I can tell you now mu boys will not get alcohol in my house nor any of my family members house.

I started all my drinking and drug habits when I was 13. By age 15 my mom and step dad allowed my to smoke cigs with them as well as pot. After I had my oldest son at 17 my mom allowed me to full fledge party with them. And from the time I was 17 1/2 to almost 19 I drank and smoked literally from the time I got up to the time I passed out at night. I no longer lived with my mom and really just crashed at whoever's house even people I did not really know. Now no alcohol is allowed in my house. My other family that I use to party with no longer does and alcohol is not allowed in their home.

Because of my past experiences no I will not allow my kids to drink alcohol while under age period. And if I do find them drinking underage and under my roof there will be heck to pay.

Rebelcats, what does your mother have to say about her behavior now?

We don't really talk about it. I know that I was the last of the kids my mom made those offers to. I have 1 older brother and 2 older sisters and she made the offer to them when they were younger and they said no (they did things just not with her). I accepted and my mom watched my decline after that. I lived one city over and she did not know from one day to the next where I was staying. She would literally just drive around town and hope she saw me so she would know where I was at. She never made the same offer to my little sister.

I think theres a certain age that you should be accepting of your teenager trying alcohol..i was raised in a house hold where my parents RARELY drank even a glass of wine, I went to college at 18 4 hours away and with the newfound freedom, curiosity got the best of me and I got carried away with drinking freshman year...SO...with that said..I think that maybe senior year of high school you should teach your kid to be responsible with alcohol, maybe a half a glass of wine at dinner wouldn't be soooo terrible just so if/when they do go to college..they wont go crazy(hopefully)..however, I dont think you should encourage the drinking and supply it whenever the teenager wants it

In Massachusetts it is not illegal to give your own child a sip of a drink when they are under 18. I believe they should lower the drinking age back to 18 but strengthen the drunk driving laws.
Zero tolerance for drinking and driving. No alcohol at all in your blood till you are 21. If caught, you lose your license to drive till you are 21. All kids drink in college and they are all breaking a law that is not enforced. Make it legal and make penalties harder.

I can not change the way a person who does not control her/his drinking habits think at a certain point in their live. It is a waste of effort and time. I can of course point out respectfuly that I personally disagree with his/her current choice of getting wasted every weekend, and of course the consequences and bad experiences that I have gone through, and that the law will impose. But do not condemn it, blame or judge, even if you know what being in their shoes is. Sometimes you never get to know what triggered this drinking. If all they want is some down to earth advice, use valid arguments and personal examples, and a caring attitude. They wont remember anything else, just the fact that someone cares and if you're lucky some of your words will sink in with time. Not overnight. As painful as it is watching them go down that road regardless, I am confident that they need to feel and learn the responsibility for their actions. Let them embrace them and learn from them...and when they are ready to start over and take your help, give them all the help they need, No strings attached. But the choice is theirs ultimately. One can only help them, not change them.

When i was 16 my parents let me get drunk for the very first time at my house with only my parents there. I kmow its illegal but i support giving your 16 17 year old beer. Not like an every weekend thing but just once. Let them get wasted in a safe enviroment so they know how alcohol effects them. Im happy my parents let me experience it in my own house. Now when i go to parties at 21 i know when to stop and i know what will happen if i dont.