A sign of things to come?

I have a 3 1/2 year old daughter who loves to help daddy whenever she can. Lately we've been bottling some beer, cleaning the beer equipment, reading the beer forum here, etc. Well last week we were at Bob Evans for dinner and when asked what she wanted to drink, her reply, verbatim, was "I think I'll have a beer". The look on my wife's face and the laughter around us was priceless. I always hoped she would be as enthusiastic about beer as I am, but I didn't figure it would set in at such an early age.

LOL...Cute!

Now you gotta teach her beer/food pairings. Don't want her drinking a pilsner with a piece of chocolate cake...she has to learn that a nice stout goes better.

I think the_bird said his daughter was doing that, too. She'd get all excited and say, "Beer!" or eat some of his spent grains.

I like that reaction better than my teenagers who complain about the "smell" on brewday or roll their eyes at my excitement of a good beer. Worse, now that my daughter is at college, they are drinking those awful lemonade type drinks. I'm so ashamed! I raised her better than that!

Whaaaaaaat?

Why can't I have Pilsener with my chocolate? Oh, I suppose nw you are gonna tell me taht my Stout doesn't pair well with Chicken Alfredo Pizza.

Geesh!



My son. 2-1/2. Refers to the taps, that he now knows produce the nectar of the gods, as the "Yummy Water". Fortunately, he is too "vertically challenged" to get his mouth around the spout, yet.

YooperBrew said:

Worse, now that my daughter is at college, they are drinking those awful lemonade type drinks. I'm so ashamed! I raised her better than that!

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We Michigan Beer Geeks, May have to do an intervention...Which college did she end up choosing?

Revvy said:

We Michigan Beer Geeks, May have to do an intervention...Which college did she end up choosing?

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NMU. If you want to take a road trip, she does like Wee Heavy. Otherwise, her taste in beer sucks. I mean, if you're going to indulge in underaged drinking, at least make it worthwhile!

Gila- that boy of yours drinking "yummy water" is after my own heart.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Whaaaaaaat?

Why can't I have Pilsener with my chocolate? Oh, I suppose nw you are gonna tell me taht my Stout doesn't pair well with Chicken Alfredo Pizza.

Geesh!



My son. 2-1/2. Refers to the taps, that he now knows produce the nectar of the gods, as the "Yummy Water". Fortunately, he is too "vertically challenged" to get his mouth around the spout, yet.

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I just drove into work listenning to an old Basic Brewing podcast with Randy Mosher on food pairing....

Yummy water, I love it!!!

Hmmmmhow would a kid know about putting his mouth on a spout and drinking directly, huh? Been skipping the glass on occasion, buddy?



Uh, kids grow like weeds, you may need a tap locks pretty soon.

Kids and beer = funny stuff.

I went shopping for Secret Santa yesterday. Of course, I stumbled across a Sierra Nevada Harvest Wet Hop Ale and grabbed it for myself. When my 6-year-old got home and opened the fridge, she says, "Looks like Daddy bought himself an early Christmas present."

You know it, girlfriend.

Yeah, well wait until the little rotter gets into the public school system. They'll drum that out of her. Neither of my kids (9 or 11) will even taste dad's beer because they've been indoctrinated into the cult of alcohol is evil. At a recent family gathering my 11 year old niece commented to my BIL and I (while we were enjoying a beer) that "beer is a drug, and drugs are bad."

I wanted to smash her across the face with my bottle, but then again that might have reinforced her point.

StunnedMonkey said:

Yeah, well wait until the little rotter gets into the public school system. They'll drum that out of her. Neither of my kids (9 or 11) will even taste dad's beer because they've been indoctrinated into the cult of alcohol is evil. At a recent family gathering my 11 year old niece commented to my BIL and I (while we were enjoying a beer) that "beer is a drug, and drugs are bad."

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Yeah there's been some discussion of this in the letters from listeners segments of the last 3-4 weeks of basic brewing radio...A parent/Brewer was having some concerns, and people whave been writing in with their own stories...

May be worth listening for you parents. IIRC it started 3-4 poscasts ago and james has read letters in all the podcasts since then.

Yeah, the_Bean loves to help, loves going with me to the beer store. I'm getting her trained early .

I'm not too worried about the schools. We're engaged enough and plan to remain engaged enough where she'll know all about booze and the risks and how to drink responsibily and all of that. I'm not too worried about her getting brainwashed. This is something we feel strongly about; better that she learn from us how to treat alcohol respectfully than to learn what it feels like to have your stomach pumped freshman year of college.

The views and perspectives on alcohol in our society get me so amped up I could run through a brick wall. Why are people so dumb! If all I teach my child is that most of what modern America teaches is not the only way to live, I will die a happy man.

Almost everyone I know knows I brew and am passionate about beer, and alcohol in general. Yet people are so shocked when I say that it is fine for children to have a glass of wine at dinner with me. Why not?! It is so ridiculous! No alcohol in your life until you are 21?! Are you F'n serious?! That is the stupidest law I have ever heard of. At least in WI it is legal to drink with your parents at home, in a bar, or at a restaurant, so no one can legally call me out on it. BTW, if they repeal that law, I will not abide it.

Boerderij Kabouter said:

The views and perspectives on alcohol in our society get me so amped up I could run through a brick wall. Why are people so dumb! If all I teach my child is that most of what modern America teaches is not the only way to live, I will die a happy man.

Almost everyone I know knows I brew and am passionate about beer, and alcohol in general. Yet people are so shocked when I say that it is fine for children to have a glass of wine at dinner with me. Why not?! It is so ridiculous! No alcohol in your life until you are 21?! Are you F'n serious?! That is the stupidest law I have ever heard of. At least in WI it is legal to drink with your parents at home, in a bar, or at a restaurant, so no one can legally call me out on it. BTW, if they repeal that law, I will not abide it.

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Yeah, I grew up in an immigrant (spanish) culture, where wine and food went hand in hand, and even the kids were given a couple ounces of wine with dinner. Since my dad was a bmc drinker, I actually hated beer as a kid. So my "underaged" teen drinking was wine or mixed drinks, but there were very few times of being "drunk" or over drinking...

I think I was raised with a respect of alcohol.

The funny thing was that my first legal booze purchase was an expensive bottle of Calvados apple brandy, while the other kids my age were buying cases of bud...It wasn't til the Craft beer industry kicked in in the mid 80's in MI that I actually got to taste great beer.

Boerderij Kabouter, judging from your username, "you ain't from around these parts". And by Revvy's own admission of being influenced by a Spanish environment, I will make my point. My wife is Hispanic and I have spent a tremendous amount of time south of the border as well as in Germany and other parts of Europe. One thing I have found to be consistant is that other cultures generally have a dramatically different view of drinking than America does.... and with no more and probably much less abuse in general.
I have 4 children, ranging in ages from 2 to 11 and have been allowed to taste beer at one time or another. My 2 year old and 11 year old are both boys and are my brewing assistants. (the 11 year old is a little more helpful as he spends less time trying to smack the dog in the ass with my mash paddle, but all help is welcome) At first, I felt a little guilty about this, indoctrinating them in the dark and evil art of making alcoholic beverages. But I came to realize, that was because of my influences from earlier in life. I don't want them cutting lines out on the mirror in the bathroom, but helping daddy brew beer and have an occasional taste is not going to push them over to shooting heroin in gym class! America needs to take the "war on drugs" and..... well... They need to get out of the little hometown and into the other parts of the world and worry about things a bit more significant.
DANG! Now I forgot what the point was that I was trying to make..... Old(er) age sucks sometimes......

bull8042 said:

...he spends less time trying to smack the dog in the ass with my mash paddle...

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Oh the many beer names you could generate from that image!

I'm going to follow this thread for a couple reasons. I have a newborn daughter and SWMBO occasionally gives me grief about having 2-3 beers a day. There are some days I don't have any but I think she's just riding me since I told her she shouldn't be drinking diet soft drinks so much. But I digress.

SWMBO recently asked me what I was planning on doing with the brewing and alcohol in the house once the kid got older. I kinda stood there with a blank look on my face and then said some smart a$$ remark about not letting her brew unsupervised. But I'm conflicted here. Should expose my kids to alcohol in the correct manner so they respect it and avoid the allure of the forbidden? At the same time I don't want to condone underage drinking and be "those parents" that allow kids and their friends to drink in their basement. I grew up in a very religious non-drinking family with NO alcohol in the house. I ended up drinking in college and my siblings did the same. Sure, all of us have had way too much at times but for the most part, we drink responsibly. The whole issue seems like a very fine and dangerous line.. so what do you do?

The one thing I am worried about is Bean's friends getting into the stash when she gets older. We were out of town and were thinking briefly about having one of the_Wife's students (who lives in the area) take care of the cats, but 86'ed that idea when we considered the potential liability if she (or one of her friends) got into the stash. I'll have to seriously consider tap locks once she gets older.

I wouldn't have a problem letting the 4 yr old have a drink of homebrew. The problem however would be with the outrage than ensues when he runs around telling everyone about it. In fear of the outrage, I will not let him.

I would think tap locks, or just disconnecting the kegs and locking the fridge would be a great way to go. There's plenty of ways to lock up your beer if it becomes a concern.

The forbidden fruit is the sweetest. I went to France as part of an exchange program in grade 12. Here in Newfoundland the legal age is 19 so I had about a year to go before I could legally drink. The thing about France was nobody was getting ****faced like we were back home on the weekends. They drank in moderation and rarely overindulged. Why? I was given wine at meals whenever I wanted, just like the rest of the people there, and there was no stigma attached. I could see a problem arising if I took a bottle and downed it, but just casual drinking was well accepted as part of society. I look at the way our society has evolved with these right wing ideas about alcohol and drug use firmly grounded in religion, and am saddened. I suppose two seriously bloody wars on our soil might have changed our outlook on the subject (life being too short to be small and petty about individual choices with no harm to the outside observer), but alas that has only happened across the pond. Getting back to the main point of the thread, if/when I have children I'm simply going to educate rather than forbid outright. That's the only sane decision in my eyes.

I did grow up in the states but spent some formative years in the Netherlands, and have lived in Germany. I love travel and have been many places and made many international friends.

I was given a glass of wine or beer with dinner growing up, not always, but when it was something good or particularly suited the meal. I was never allowed to drink without my arents and this was understood. I have always appreciated alcohol as a food and had great respect for it.

Do I over indulge occasionally? Did I drink underage? Yes and yes, but so did everyone else, and at least I was smart about it (e.g., no driving, only in safe responsible places). When my child grows old enough to understand beer and has the capability to get to my taps, I will have locks on them at all times. My liquor will be stored where only I can get it. It is not a weird thing to say, 'you can drink with your mother and I, but not when you want to or feel like it.'

Just make that line VERY clear and your child will understand. Many people treat kids like idiots. All you need to do is treat children with a dram of respect and they will show you the same. I am not saying they wont try to get into your stash when they are teenagers, but by then it is out of your control anyway.

Luckilly, SWMBO and I agree on this matter - our daughter will be allowed to drink within reason at our house with us present. At 4, she's already had sips of daddy's beer and likes the taste - I see no issue with same.

I grew up in a "alchohol is evil" type household (at least they're finally mellowing) and I DID overindulge and do stupid stuff - mainly because I was already breaking the rules....

Forbidden fruit is always sweeter...

Whenever people question me on this topic, I counter with this point...

Name one other part of our society where ignorance is considered the best way to deal with a problem? Keeping your child ignorant about alcohol until they are 21 is just silly.

'Hmmmm, drinking is bad. I better make sure my child knows nothing about it except that it is evil.' I have heard that works great with telling your kids about abstinence only birth control

Kids say the darnest things, and there is nothing you can do. Usually people laugh it off and that is what people need to do. Everybody takes things to serious and wants to make everybody happy....THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN, NOT EVEN WITH OBAMA AS PREZ.

I always got sips of beer and wine when I was little, but that was it. I knew my boundaries and didn't start drinking until college. I believe that it is one thing to have a few beers and relax (as I do now) and drink to get drunk (as I did in College). Automatically when people hear alcoho, they think that it is about getting drunk, not relaxing. We can thank TV, Laguna Beach, OC, all that teenybopper crap.

histo320 said:

Automatically when people hear alcoho, they think that it is about getting drunk, not relaxing. We can thank TV, Laguna Beach, OC, all that teenybopper crap.

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This is the biggest problem I run into. Most people don't touch alcohol unless they are going to drink a case of BMC and get slammed. So when I tell them I drink every night they are all confused.