der_saeufer

Yes, but it's relatively uncommon. My home state of Wisconsin allows anyone to drink with parental permission but goes uniquely farther and even allows under-21s to drink in a bar with their parents. Normally this is not OK, and in some states you'll actually get prosecuted for trying to sneak your 19-year-old a beer.

I always have to laugh at the national campaign of billboards and posters telling parents not to buy alcohol for their kids and threatening punishment. Every time I'm back home and see one I wonder if whoever paid for it realizes that it's not even illegal. (In fact, hosting a "teen drinking party" is legal--and was quite common when I was a teenager--if you have the guests' parents' permission. I'm told by older friends that before we were forced to raise the drinking age to 21, it was even less of a big deal.)

That said, again, we're the exception. In a number of states you can catch a felony for buying your 20-year-old a six-pack.

(And yes, relevant username )

LondonElite

Alcohol is a bit like prostitution. It's a vice. It's going to happen no matter what barriers you try and put around it, so better to have it under some form of control, rather than forbidding it outright.

roberino

And we should let kids do both?

jwhughes3

Wisconsin is not alone. In Texas, it is legal for minors to consume beer and wine in establishments when given by their parents as well. They cannot order it or be served, but Mom & Dad can and let them have it legally.

I have never seen it abused.

John

GUWonder

Wisconsin is relatively special in this regard, even relevant to Texas.

While I am certainly of the opinion that a clearer channel of communication about the actual behavior of children is very useful to try to manage for potential problems related to indulgences of various sorts, I've also seen parent-facilitated alcohol consumption be a major contributor to the same "supervised" children getting plastered or even having other alcohol consumption related problems.

I'm pretty sure that surveys conducted in some upper midwest states showed that children who were provided drinks by parents in high school were also more likely to be users of more strictly controlled substances (say marijuana for example) in college than their college-attending peers who were not provided alcohol by parents.

VickiSoCal

I'm talking about a 16 year old, which is legal drinking age in many countries.

So far she has not demonstrated any desire to sneak out and party at home, and I seriously doubt she'd do so in Santiago. She's a bit timid about venturing out alone in urban areas in the US, even though we've pushed her to be more adventurous.

momofbaboo

When my son was 14 we went to Italy where we were served several limoncellas after dinner. We got lost going back to the hotel and wandered for blocks eventually ending up in an archaeological dig. He is now 28 and this remains one of his all time favorite memories from our travels. So I vote for the occasional adult beverage.

VickiSoCal

She tasted a bit of the husband's wine at pretty much every meal and developed some decided opinions along the way. No sign of it having harmed her yet.

LondonElite

In all likelihood, it will have benefitted both her health and outlook on life!

CDTraveler

+1

My kid is 16 now. Just as I wouldn't dream of handing over the car keys without teaching him how to drive first, I won't send him off to college with an education in liquor and responsible behavior with alcohol. My Dad raised us on "learn about drinking at home" and from the time I was little I could have a taste of his drink at home. He used to say "Taste it now and that way you won't make a fool of yourself in public." He also talked to us about responsible drinking, as I talk to my kid about it.

Want your kid to behave responsibly with alcohol? Model the behavior, teach and discuss on a regular basis and you've got a chance at it.

p.s. to the OP's question: I believe in following the law where you are. If my legal aged teen wanted a glass of wine in Italy, I would allow it.