# Alcohol and children **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111 "2003-04-11T20:23:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/1 "2003-04-11T20:23:08Z")
Another thread asked about religion and alcohol. Mention was made that in France people begin drinking wine as children. I recall hearing someone (could’ve been in _Father Goose_) saying “I was drinking wine mixed with water when I was five years old!” In the U.S., serving alcohol to minors would be consedered “contributing to the delinqency of a minor”, wouldn’t it? Or would it? A case could be made that the mere act of drinking alcohol – especially under monitored conditions – does not contribute to delinqency. It can also be shown that wine is beneficial to one’s health. So if a parent in the U.S. serves a moderate amount of wine (“child-size” and/or diluted) to his or her own child, with the intention of introducing or continuing a widespread custom of another modern nation, and/or recognizing the health benefits of moderate wine consumption and providing those benefits to his or her own child, would this parent be in violation of the law? Would such a parent be prosecuted? If prosecuted, is the parent likely to be acquitted because of the history of similar wine consumption that can be pointed out in France? (I have no children. Just curious.) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/2 "2003-04-11T20:47:17Z")
Texas Alcholic Beverage Code, Sec. 106.06: (b). A person may purchase an alcoholic beverage for or give an alcoholic beverage to a minor if he is the minor’s adult parent, guardian, or spouse, or an adult in whose custody the minor has been committed by a court, and he is visibly present when the minor possesses or consumes the alcoholic beverage. So there ya go. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/3 "2003-04-11T20:56:14Z")
It doesn’t say how much they can give the kid. What if the parent thought a six-pack was appropriate? Or a case? Not that I have a problem with kids drinking a little wine now and again. The mystique is what forges this country’s obsession with booze. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/4 "2003-04-11T21:10:28Z")
“Why must you show such insatiable curiousity about my forbidden closet of mystery?” I’m guessing that the section provided above acts as a defense to the crime of contributing to a minor _only_, and wouldn’t be a defense to reckless endangerment of a child or various family code statutes. If you knowingly let your kid drink a liter of vodka you’ll get prosecuted for something far more serious than contributing to the delinquency of a minor. ---
**Author:** ![j.c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/5 "2003-04-11T21:10:45Z")
I don’t get the idea of the mystique, frankly. Many of the New York Jews I know had sips and watered glasses of wine during holidays and family gatherings (at least, that’s what they tell me), kids in New Orleans certainly get samples during childhood, and I’ve been to polka dances in the midwest where little kids were being allowed to taste their parents and grandparents beer (and watch their parents get high as kites and dance all night.) ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/6 "2003-04-11T21:15:27Z")
Indiana Code: IC 7.1-5-7-15 Aiding unlawful possession Sec. 15. A person twenty-one (21) years of age or older who knowingly or intentionally encourages, aids, or induces a minor to unlawfully possess an alcoholic beverage commits a Class C infraction. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/7 "2003-04-11T21:18:49Z")
I believe that it is only illegal to give alcohol to anyone under the age of 4 here in the UK, of course it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to buy it. Just a couple of data points. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/8 "2003-04-11T21:22:53Z")
**Dogface** : What is “unlawful possession”? (That law looks to me like something designed to prohibit adults from “helping out” a couple of teenagers who are hanging out outside of the liqour store.) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/9 "2003-04-11T21:27:28Z")
You can’t drink until you’re _four_ over there? You bunch of lightweights! 😉 I should clarify that the section I quoted above is subsection (b) of the “purchasing or funihing alcohol to a minor” section of the code, which makes it a class A misdemeanor to purchase, give, or make available with criminal negligence alcohol to/for a minor. Subsection (b) makes a parental/guardian/spousal exception. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/10 "2003-04-11T21:31:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pravnik \* > \*\*You can’t drink until you’re _four_ over there? You bunch of lightweights! 😉 \*\* Only in the eyes of the law of course; in practice it is not uncommon to see large gangs of toddlers ramraiding wine merchants or hanging around outside, asking twelve-year-olds to buy them hard liquor. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/11 "2003-04-11T22:15:18Z")
I am not a lawyer, but: Context is everything. If you give your 4-year old a sip of watered-down wine at the dinner table, the chances of your being charged with anything are so small as to be non-existent, even if it were illegal. Obviously if you’re giving your teenager 6-packs of beer to go get stupid with, that’s another thing entirely. People have been charged with violating such rules if they hold “keg parties” in their home for groups of teens, for example. Finally, if you regularly give your children alcohol to the extent that their health is damaged, presumably you could be charged with endangerment. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/12 "2003-04-13T06:16:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\ ***Dogface** : What is “unlawful possession”? (That law looks to me like something designed to prohibit adults from “helping out” a couple of teenagers who are hanging out outside of the liqour store.) \*\* “Unlawful possession” in Indiana is defined very broadly. Technically, by the wording of the law, Orthodox Christian Communion involves “possession” of alcohol by the recipient. It is usually enforced under a far more reasonable measure, but the law actually allows for greater extremes. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/13 "2003-04-13T13:12:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*I believe that it is only illegal to give alcohol to anyone under the age of 4 here in the UK, of course it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to buy it. Just a couple of data points. \*\* Slight correction - the age limit is 5. [UK alcohol laws](http://www.ias.org.uk/factsheets/alcohollaw.pdf) (pdf). ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/14 "2003-04-13T14:11:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*I believe that it is only illegal to give alcohol to anyone under the age of 4 here in the UK, of course it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to buy it. Just a couple of data points. \*\* Is that a relatively new law? I clearly remember being in London in 1985, when I was 15, buying greyhounds (vodka and grapefruit juice) at a club, and thinking it was the neatest thing in the world that I could buy alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/15 "2003-04-13T14:13:44Z")
In Ohio you’re allowed to serve your _own_ (minor) children alcoholic beverages, but not others. The law doesn’t mention a quantity limit. My guess is that if you got your 8 y.o. child inebriated you would be charged with _something_. Abuse of a minor, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![MajorTom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@MajorTom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MajorTom)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/16 "2003-04-13T15:49:25Z")
In Washington it is legal for a minor to consume alcohol in the presence of the minor’s parent, but only at their own residence, making it impossible for the kid to drink with his friends. (I guess they could meet at the fence or property line) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/17 "2003-04-13T20:01:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Athena \* > \*\*Is that a relatively new law? I clearly remember being in London in 1985, when I was 15, buying greyhounds (vodka and grapefruit juice) at a club, and thinking it was the neatest thing in the world that I could buy alcohol. \*\* I think it is almost certain that theis was sold to you illegally; 16 year-olds can purchase beer or cider(which is the name for fermented apple juice in the UK), but only with a meal. 15 year-olds can enter a bar if it has the appropriate licence and if they are accompanied by an adult, but they may not (legally)purchase or consume alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-and-children/168111/18 "2003-04-13T20:04:03Z")
Quick correction/addendum: Actually, it is anyone 14 or over for the beer/cider thing, the range of available drinks is severely limited; they may not purchase or consume wines, spirits & liqueuers.