I certainly agree 100%. Offhand I can't recall any of our family's kids (and there were about twelve of us), not trying some beer or wine at some point. In fact, during the Passover seders, many of the kids would get a little bit of wine in order to participate more fully in the rituals.
Like I said earlier, kids are going to experiment with such things, and it seems best to allow them to get it out of the way and behind them under the supervision of a parent or guardian. I'll never forget the first time I had hard liquor. It was rum. I was about twelve years old, and was home alone watching TV. There was a little bottle of rum in the house that a neighbor had brought over earlier that day. I was watching some detective movie in which everyone had a drink at some point in the movie, and I decided to be a "big boy." Poured myself some rum, swigged it down, and Ugggh! Hated it! That cured me from wanting a drink for a ~very~ long time. Shel "You meet the nicest people with a Pentax" > [Original Message] > From: Godfrey DiGiorgi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Date: 12/9/2005 11:58:19 AM > Subject: Re: PAW PESO - April Drinks a Beer > > > On Dec 9, 2005, at 11:31 AM, Christian wrote: > > >> http://home.earthlink.net/~scbelinkoff/april-2up.html > >> Sick? In what way? > > > > Geez Shel, it's a minor (and a very young one at that) drinking > > from a beer can! That could be construed by many people to be > > child abuse. Therefore = "sick" But at the same time she's a cute > > girl with a lovely expression and I'm sure there was no harm meant > > by her parents or guardians. > > Absurd. This is pedonoia. > > Children in the vicinity of parents and friends often try sipping a > beer, wine, scotch, etc. Most of the time they wrinkle up their nose > a moment later as the strong flavor is too much for a child's > palette. Pictures of this innocent experimentation, of trying to "be > like the adults" are often charming, cute, wonderful things to > remember one's childhood later ... I have a few of myself doing these > sorts of things, taken by my father, that I love. It reminds me of > him, and of my family, and of my youth. > > To consider a photo like this to be depicting "child abuse" is stupid > and destructive. > > Godfrey
