Congratulations to Alcohol Concern who have won, "slam dunk" (if I may quote ex CIA Director Tenet), my prestigious "Prat of The Week" Award; for their absurd suggestion that parents should be prosecuted, if they give alcohol to children under 15 (even if it is only with a meal in their own home).Alcohol Concern claim that this causes alcohol problems later in life.
Bollocks!
I was allowed alcohol when I was a child, and look at me now!Aside form that, here is why the suggestion is total and utter bollocks:
1 It is unenforceable (even Nanny's health minister, Caroline Flint, says that!).
2 The state, nor charities, should intervene in the way that parents bring up their children (where there are no child abuse issues).
3 The problem with underage drinking arises not because the "children" are drinking with their parents, but because they are drinking unsupervised. Therefore parents should drink with their children.
4 Let us assume that Alcohol Concern's recommendation was implemented, and booze banned from children under the age of 16/15. Once the "child" passes the magic age of 15/16, he/she is meant to face the world with all its temptations and problems without any experience of how to manage alcohol. How on earth does that help prepare the "child" for entry into the adult world? Surely this counts as child abuse?
5 The continentals allow alcohol with family meals, they seem to manage OK.
6 The root cause of anti social behaviour and binge drinking amongst "youths" is that they are thrown into the adult world without any real preparation. Physically they may well be "adult", mentally (because they have been cossetted, spoilt and kept in cotton wool by Nanny and over protective parents) they are immature, spoilt self centred children. They are not equipped to deal with responsibility or the real world. To ban parental supervision of drinking would exacerbate this situation.
Congratulations to Alcohol Concern for thoroughly earning your award!
Please drop them a note and let them know that they have won: contact@alcoholconcern.org.uk
Children may drink at home with thier parents consent, it is not illegal,in this case i admire the continentals whos children are brought up with it and it does acclimatize them to drink,in a responsible manner, as you say we should prepare them for the "adult"world, but that is what parents do anyway, unless interfered with by failed communists.
ReplyDeleteAs an ex-pat now living in the USA (yay! I escaped!) it's funny to see the difference in attitudes over alcohol. If I go out for lunch over here and order a beer (I'm 38 by the way) I get weird looks like "look at that guy drinking before 6pm"). If I tell anyone that my parents gave me alcohol when I was a kid at Christmas or something they invaribaly almost always fall over in shock and horror.
ReplyDeleteThe nearest thing I can assimilate the British alcohol culture with is the Amercian gun culture. It's perfectly normal for Amercians to carry concealed weapons for "self-defence" purposes. Mention this concept to your average Briton and it becomes "absurd" - even though the practice was actually common place in the UK only 60-70 years ago.
It's a funny old world isn't it?
Anonymous ex-pat in the USA:
ReplyDeleteWhenever I visit the UK I'm amazed at the pubs at lunchtime.
All the people having several pints over lunch. You are correct, it's a cultural thing.
Yanks work too hard to be drinking at lunch.
Yes, I think that youngsters first introduction to drink should be with the family. Then wider social situations and then the community.
ReplyDeleteHowever given all the rules etc. we have in modern civilised western socities and the fact that the younger want-to-be drinker tends to be very price sensitive they tend to look for the best-bang-per-buck/pound as it were.
Pubs etc. are out of their price range, along with most other places where there may be other adults who either know them or their families, or who are prepared to monitor their behaviour.
Because of this they tend to drink apart from all others - i.e. with their in-experienced peers. And they tend to drink what ever is cheapest (Alco-pops?) from the off licence in the local playgroung/park/beach are. I.e. the places where there are no others to mentor nor monitor their behaviour, and they are free to engage in the kind of asbo behaviour nanny so detests....
So nanny will want to DO SOMETHING! Like introduce drinking licences next? Yes - you're 18 (grrr), yes - you've passed your learners drinking test (grrr grrrr) - you are allowed .5 the standard adult daily intake as monitored by nanny (.....).
On the subject of "bang for your buck", a scientific study has in fact been conducted (by a chum of mine who worked as a salesman for an IT compnay).
ReplyDeleteHis colleagues collated all the data on all the main brands (gin, vodka, beer, alcohol pops etc) and used sophisticated techniques (a spreadsheet actually) inputting the prices and alochol by volume etc....to come up with the definitive answer to mankind's age old question:
"What gives me the most bang for my buck?"
The answer was:
A bottle of "Buckie"
The fortified wine made by the good monks of Buckfast Abbey.
There you have it folks, if you want to get the most bang for your buck, have a Buckie!
I recall writing an article about Buckfast some months ago, do a search on this site and see if you can find it.
Having lived and worked for 5 years in the USA I disagree that the Yanks work hard - but they make work such an utterly joyless experience it seems like it. And they may not drink much before 6 0'clock but they darn well make up for it after.
ReplyDelete