A matter of taste
You know that thing about pet photos making blogs look "unprofessional?" Well, thanks to a handy edit gadget I just found, I'm no longer just a pet-addled hack. I'm a pop artist, dammit:
That or drowsy and punchy. It's late and I had a big glass of wine at the theater earlier. Horton Hears a Who may be just fine on its own, but the combination of the Shiraz and the kids' giggles during the film made the evening for me.
Which leads, indirectly, to an issue I've been mulling for months, based on a Wine Scamp post from last November. (Yes, I can recall other people's posts from last year but I can't find the glasses I wear every single day. Totally normal.) Her question was, Do you let your kids taste wine? It threw me into a little quandary.
On the one hand, my parents always let me have a taste of whatever they were having, and they modeled a reasonable, relaxed attitude about wine. On the other, I've read that early exposure to alcohol can be a factor in alcoholism. I know genes can be an issue as well, and my late grandfather was--in addition to being a bigamist, a brawler and all-around trouble--an alcohol abuser from childhood. Ol' granddad was not the only drunk in my sprawling family tree, either. So I wondered if letting my boys taste any alcohol before their mid-to-late teens was a good idea. On the third hand, forbidden fruit and all that.
Last month, just after his ninth birthday, Rocketboy started making little cracks at the dinner table about Hombre and me getting "drunk" from one glass of wine or beer. His comments led me to see that he was curious about alcohol and creating his own stories to fill the gaps in his knowledge. In the spirit of showing him that a glass of red is not instant-happy-juice, I offered him a sip.
Rocketboy, being cautious and methodical, asked me to water it down for him. I sloshed a little Malbec in a juice glass with water and handed it over. Like that, my worries about his relationship with alcohol evaporated.
While Rocketboy still happily opens bottles for us, he now classifies wine with coffee, olives* and kissing as one of those weird things that grownups like. He doesn't see it as the key to going crazy Broadway-style. And recently he was able to oh-so-sophisticatedly assure a slightly older friend who's on fire to taste beer that it's not going to be the delicious party-in-a-can he imagines. In other words, he's chilled out on the alcohol issue.
What about you and your kids? How do you handle alcohol in your home?
*Hurricanehead hasn't asked for a taste yet, but he may be a different story once he finally gets around to it. This is a kid who's been drinking decaf since he was two and eats olives like candy.
Which leads, indirectly, to an issue I've been mulling for months, based on a Wine Scamp post from last November. (Yes, I can recall other people's posts from last year but I can't find the glasses I wear every single day. Totally normal.) Her question was, Do you let your kids taste wine? It threw me into a little quandary.
On the one hand, my parents always let me have a taste of whatever they were having, and they modeled a reasonable, relaxed attitude about wine. On the other, I've read that early exposure to alcohol can be a factor in alcoholism. I know genes can be an issue as well, and my late grandfather was--in addition to being a bigamist, a brawler and all-around trouble--an alcohol abuser from childhood. Ol' granddad was not the only drunk in my sprawling family tree, either. So I wondered if letting my boys taste any alcohol before their mid-to-late teens was a good idea. On the third hand, forbidden fruit and all that.
Last month, just after his ninth birthday, Rocketboy started making little cracks at the dinner table about Hombre and me getting "drunk" from one glass of wine or beer. His comments led me to see that he was curious about alcohol and creating his own stories to fill the gaps in his knowledge. In the spirit of showing him that a glass of red is not instant-happy-juice, I offered him a sip.
Rocketboy, being cautious and methodical, asked me to water it down for him. I sloshed a little Malbec in a juice glass with water and handed it over. Like that, my worries about his relationship with alcohol evaporated.
While Rocketboy still happily opens bottles for us, he now classifies wine with coffee, olives* and kissing as one of those weird things that grownups like. He doesn't see it as the key to going crazy Broadway-style. And recently he was able to oh-so-sophisticatedly assure a slightly older friend who's on fire to taste beer that it's not going to be the delicious party-in-a-can he imagines. In other words, he's chilled out on the alcohol issue.
What about you and your kids? How do you handle alcohol in your home?
*Hurricanehead hasn't asked for a taste yet, but he may be a different story once he finally gets around to it. This is a kid who's been drinking decaf since he was two and eats olives like candy.
KCB. permalink
Get Home to Mother