No you CAN'T get your kid drunk!

[customersruinmylife]

Argh, just got in from work, not an easy shift, but the highlight of the day had to be a parent who thought it was OK to ply his son with alchol.

We let kids in the bar, as long as they are eating. We also have strict rules about how many drinks the adults can have, and when they have to leave. So, it wasn't unusual that a parent decided to take his son out for a burger. Fair enough.

I thought it was a bit unusual because they were sat around the corner from the bar where we could not see them, and were not in the designated family area. However, our family area was jam packed to capacity, so I was prepared to let it slide as long as they weren't bothering anyone.

I took their meals to them, the kid was drinking coke, fine, ok. Then I notice the dad taking TWO beers over to the table. Hmmm, somethings not right.

The kid was probably about 13, and I kept an eye on them. But I got sent to the kitchen to sort some stuff out in there. I came back about twenty minutes later, the kid is drinking a beer!

I went up to ask the kid for I.D (on the off chance that he was just an unfortunate soul that looked very young)

Me: Excuse me sir, but how old is your son?
Dad: Umm, why do you want to know?
Me: Well, he does have a beer on him. Does he have any proof of age to say he can drink it?
Dad: But I bought it.
Me: Yes, I can see it, but he's drinking it. He's not old enough is he?
Dad: He's not old enough to BUY it, but he's old enough to drink it.

Stupid idiot. The kid quite clearly knew he was wrong as well because he looked very nervous all of a sudden.

Me: I'm sorry sir, but I'm going to have to take these drinks and ask you to leave.
Dad: What! This is outrageous! I paid for these drinks!
Me: I'm sorry sir, but the law is the law.

He actually left without a fuss after that. But the idiot! How did he expect to bring his kid into the pub to drink and get away with it!

[Kara]

How sad. That boy doesn't stand a chance at life.

[CrazedClerk]

I would've kept him there and called the police and/or child services. Serving alcohol to a minor is very much illegal.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I would've kept him there and called the police and/or child services. Serving alcohol to a minor is very much illegal.

Problem with that is the police might still try to hold the establishment responsible in some way....but you're right, I would want to call the cops too.

[CrazedClerk]

Problem with that is the police might still try to hold the establishment responsible in some way....but you're right, I would want to call the cops too.

Well the bar had no way of knowing really, the probably thought the guy bought both beers for himself.

[customersruinmylife]

I thought about the police, but the chances are they wouldn't have done anything. The guy would have probably got a slap on the wrist and we would have caused a big scene when it could easily be avoided.

[TheRoo]

Liquor laws vary from state to state, but there are some places where it is legal for a parent to buy alcohol for their child in a bar.

[Barefootgirl]

13 certainly seems a little young to be drinking beer in a bar. In the UK its legal to buy a beer, or cider or a glass of wine for your 16 or 17 year old if they are having a meal with you.

The guy in the OP is a pretty crappy parent though, if he's just plying his kid with booze to allow himself to drink.

[Banrion]

The guy in the OP is a pretty crappy parent though, if he's just plying his kid with booze to allow himself to drink.

This seems a little harsh. In my family, my parents allowed my brother and I to drink when we were underage as long as we were supervised. It's kinda like reverse psychology. If you tell a kid they can't have something they just want it more. When you tell a kid go ahead and have a beer, the novelty is gone and they probably won't even want it anymore.

The kid in the OP was eating, and 13-14 years old, one beer is not going to have the kid falling down drunk and puking. The parent was an SC because he was creating a hazard for the establishment, but I don't think from this one incident that he is a bad parent and he just wanted to get sloshed.

[iradney]

In the privacy of your own home, it's a different matter. But in public, laws are there for a reason. When I was 12, my father tried to educate me about wine. He failed miserably The main thing is, it was at home, and always in those little tot glasses. Not in public, and certainly not with a whole can of beer!

[Knightmare]

When I was a wee lad, my dad bought us (me and 3 brothers) drinks. I was maybe 10-12 years old. It was always at this one bar, across the street from a hotel we went for summer vacation. Dad bought us whatever we wanted.
Of course we started ordering beer, but bleah! We ended up drinking cokes and pepsi.
My first drink was at age 5, when grandpa gave me a beer.
Now, 30 years later, I have one drink maybe every 6 months. None of my brothers are alcoholics.
So who knows? Maybe we should let kids get drunk.

[iradney]

Maybe we should let kids get drunk.

Hehehe funny story. When I was 4, my parents took me to a dinner party at a friend's house. I snuck sips from unattended wine glasses, and was well and truly sloshed in no time. During dinner, they were talking about an uncle of mine that passed away a few decades before I was even born (this is relevant, I promise).
So after dinner, I go outside the apartment complex to play, and the grownups have coffee.
Not too long after that, a concerned neighbour brings a wailing, sniffling me up to my parents and gives her condolences over my dead uncle

[draftermatt]

When I was 9 we went to a family reunion in Green Bay, WI. We were waiting for an aunt and my parents told me to go to the bar and get a soda. I went to the bar and asked for a ginger ale.

The lady gave me (a 9 year old child) a glass of hard liquor. I assume Ale. I still can't believe it. Neither could my parents. I took a sip, said this isn't ginger ale, then my parents got involved. Wish I knew if anything happened after that.

I had a friend who's parents allowed him to drink at 14. They would have even allowed me to had I wanted to. (My parents weren't happy when they found that out).

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Banrion, I couldn't agree more. I was allowed whatever I wanted to drink as soon as I was able to sit up at the table and drink it. We were poor growing up, and on holidays drank cheap, sweet wine, so I don't even remember my first drink of alcohol. It was a non-issue in my family.

Neither my sister or me ever had any problems going out and sneaking booze like a lot of our friends did. It wasn't a forbidden fruit, and if I had a hankering for it, my old man would actually BUY it for me. In fact, when my sister was 15 or 16, she walked in with a bottle of cheap wine and a glass and announced that she wanted to get drunk because she wanted to know what it was like.

In front of me and my mom she's doing this. We said, "Okay." and went back to reading the paper. Eventually, she got bored and gave up (it's hard to get drunk on pop wine.). She wasn't trying to get a rise out of anyone. She figured it would be safe to get loopy in the safety of her home with her mother.

Make it a non-issue, and it will be just that. A non-issue.

Now, as for the nimrod thinking he'd order it in a bar for a child, well, that guy was just dumb.

[Skandranon]

I remember my first taste of alcohol. I was 6, it was summer, and dad was having a Heineken out in the yard. I asked him what it was, and he handed me the bottle and told me to have a sip. I did, and scowled. "That's disgusting!" I whined. "It's an adult drink," he said, "it takes some getting used to."

He did the same thing to me with coffee, and I've never had a drop of the stuff since. Beer I drink occasionally, Corona mostly, but I can't stand any other type of alcohol.

I also remember the first time I got drunk. Parents left me with an older pair of friends, and they nip into my parent's stash. I join them, and soon I'm lolling on the floor giggling incessantly while I watch them play some cycle racing game. Then I got lost in my own house, tripped over a sofa, broke a vase, and cut my foot. My parents showed up just as I was being carried off to bed, and I giggled "Hi moooom! We ran over pedestri-pedstri-anz!" She, for some reason, thought it was hilarious, and teased me mercilessly for the next week.

Personally I have no problem with a little underage drinking, as long as it's kept under control and done sensibly. But I also believe that if you do something illegal and get caught, don't moan and gripe when you get slapped with the punishment. You knew it was coming.