What age should you start drinking?

My parents are split up, and my mum doesn't ever drink in front of us. So basically I've grown up thinking drinking is bad at my age. And seen as I've never been in a position where drink is available (except at a wedding), I haven't drank really.

Now, I met a girl. She's intelligent (more than me), but she got drunk, got off with 3 people (as in kissed, for minutes at a time). I felt bad about this, and then the next day she was peer pressuring me into drinking. But I'm not sure if she meant to because she hasn't mentioned anything about it since, and she even drank non-alcoholic beer and told me about it. Once we'd explained a few things, we realised basically, that people at my school tend not to drink, but she says most of her school year get drunk every weekend. She doesn't, but she's obviously got influence.

My best friend is having a BBQ in a week, and I would like to go. However, he's asked people to bring drinks. I can't get any seen as mum doesn't let me drink. He says just don't drink but that's just giving in to how my mums brought me up. And I've learnt now that all she's done is set me up to drink a lot in university, where I've been told the beer is cheap.

I'm annoyed at my mum really, because she should have introduced me to beer earlier, but she just seems reluctant to even let me drink anything.

I'm 15 and so is this girl, if that makes much difference. I know I shouldn't get drunk at my age, but I should be able to drink and enjoy myself.

Btw, this girl is very similiar to me, and I will get annoyed at her if she tells me to drink again. I guess the reason she drinks is it lets her be someone else, where as really she's kind and sweet and quiet (atleast around me).

So I need some opinions on all this because I'm just stuck in a position that I can't really see a way out.

Thanks guys :)

drinking 15 beer

asked Aug 27 '11 at 09:56

Taz155
191●16●21●27

I have a simple solution...don't drink. Since you are underage, I'm sure no one on this site will tell you to drink, because it's illegal (if you're in the US, not sure about other countries).

Personally, the closest thing that I've had to an alcoholic drink is sparklink cider.

When you surpass 21, you have almost no restrictions when it comes to alcoholic beverages. I'd advise that you never get completely wasted, because it can have terrible consequences.

(Aug 27 '11 at 10:03) catchatyou

I'm in the U.K. And yes of course it's easy to say I shouldn't drink, but there's going to be times where I'll want to drink, and I'm sure I will.

(Aug 27 '11 at 10:08) Taz155

I'm 16, and I haven't even held a wine glass (filled with wine...). If you don't expose yourself to it, it'll be easy. If you have a parent that has a full refrigerator of beer, it'll be hard. I don't know your circumstance, but if you're going to expose yourself like that, than there's no point in resisting, because you're just going to do it anyway.

(Aug 27 '11 at 10:19) catchatyou

My mum has beer, but it's in her room. She only drinks when she knows I won't go downstairs. I've never seen her drink.

I've only recently started thinking about drinking because my brother (36), said I'll get drunk in university a lot. And I don't want that to be the case. I want to drink but safely, and not much so I don't get drunk.

Also, if my friend is having a BBQ, which he says people aren't aloud to get drunk at (thankfully), I want to be able to drink there, but seen as I can't get any alcohol I won't be able to.

I drink with my grandparents. But only a shandy, and not everytime I visit.

(Aug 27 '11 at 10:26) Taz155

Piece of advise my friend.

YOU SHOULD DRINK and DRINK while the environment is safe TRAIN yourself how to keep your self up and not be Taken advantage by others.

if you train now with people you trust when THE TIME COMES and you are with strangers and Forced/ by peer pressure you get to drink THEN YOU WILL BE SAFE because you were trained.

this has We Drink for Fun- Yes, and that's exactly the point! you don't want People making fun of you 'cause you don't know how to drink what a shame. use this as your reason and start drinking with your mom. :)) she might have some better things to share as an advise for you, beside family bonding. you know. :)) drinking ain't Bad, but everything you do must be done in moderation just like drinking,. just like studying., or eating or anything,. do it in moderation.

cheers

(Sep 02 '11 at 01:30) xedric14

17 Answers:

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I don't like alcoholic drinks, they taste like **** really! Also you can get sick if you drink a lot. What I want you to do is listen to your inner consciousness(you know that voice that tells you what's right), my friends drank a lot since 12th grade and I don't like it one bit, it's ok once and then but a lot I don't think so.

If you think you should not do it, simply say No!

answered Aug 27 '11 at 10:41

Patxi
12.6k●206●272●386

It's telling me not to drink. So yeh I'll probably decide I shouldn't. When the time is right, I'm sure I'll know. :)

(Aug 27 '11 at 10:46) Taz155

15 is way too young to drink. You are really still forming your personality and building your adult confidence and if you use alcohol regularly it could cause you to become socially dependent on alcohol. If she or your friends pressure you to drink, find someone else to hang out with. There are better people.

answered Aug 27 '11 at 11:23

BAAM
16●1

Well she did, but not for long and I don't think she meant to. If she drinks regularly then she sees it as a good thing to do. She did seem intimidating however.

(Aug 27 '11 at 18:52) Taz155

I have been drinking since i was about 5, and alcohol has always been available to me if i wanted it, if my parents were drinking, and i wanted to try some, i was always allowed. If i go to my Nannys i will drink 1/2/3 cans of beer or guiness and noone in my family sees anything wrong with it. Their philosophy for bringing us up with alcohol is if you completely ban it, at one stage they will go out and get wasted in rebellion, if you allow them to try it in moderation they will learn to drink responsibly. In the UK you can drink in a private residance from the age of 5, within reason, and 6 year old isn't legally allowed to get drunk, but it has got to the point that i have now built a small tolerance to alcohol that i can drink alcohol at social meets and not feel it, 3/4/5/6 cans over a long night and be fine. If i drunk that and hadn't been raised with a mouthfull of wine, beer on special occasions and as i got older beer while i was working in summer (manual work for family, digging over gardens etc etc), and allowed to try anything i wanted within reason, i would have no tolerance and would get drunk after 2 or 3 cans.

I am not going to tell you to drink, but here are a few words for if you do drink, i have learn from personal experience.

Don't try and keep up with other people drinking. If they get drunk every weekend it will take them possibly 10 cans or more to get drunk. If you drink that much after never having alcohol you will most likely end in hospital. Have 1 or 2 cans, depending on your weight or body size, give it half an hour, see if you like the taste, and if you do, have one more. But never just think when you have finished one can "i feel fine, ill have another" straight away. Alcohol takes time to enter the body, you will suddenly go from no feeling of drunkness, to 2 extra cans, which will affect you alot the first time you drink.
Have a good meal before you do drink. This will allow you to drink more without getting drunk, it will also make it more pleasant if you do get drunk.
Stick to one thing or another. Dont go from beer, to vodka, to cider. You will get drunk on nothing, and will feel sick, and you're more likely to have a hangover, you dont want to get drunk.
Understand if you keep drinking, it will only go worse. It will go from a happyish state, to a depressed one being sick. I have never drunk enough to have this, as i drink responsibly but i have seen it in friends.

I have followed these things and they have for the majority kept me safe when drinking. Don't drink with people you don't trust, and just take things super slow. I drink as i said maybe 3/4/5/6 cans over a night. They are 2-3 units each. If i start drinking at 6 i will maybe stop at 12 or 2 in the morning. Alcohol leave the system at 1 unit an hour, so i have got rid of 6-8 units in that time, so 3-4 cans of beer have gone from my system, if this makes sense, don't drink too fast, have a beer, then go back to lemonade or soda, whatever they call it where you are, for a while.

I hope this has helped. I am not going to say drink, but as i said how i have been brought up i have learnt to drink responsibly, and only with the right people. This means i don't end up wasted or the wrong end of a practical joke that goes wrong. The laws may be different in different countries so this applies to the uk, so it may not be 100% relevant for the US but i hope you can take something from it.

answered Aug 27 '11 at 11:23

Michael Graham
196●3●3●9

edited Aug 27 '11 at 11:25

Well I think I've decided not to drink until I feel it's right. Seen as I haven't been brought up with alcohol, I don't feel it necessary to drink to have fun. I know some people who rely on alcohol which of course saddens me they know no other way to have fun..

Thanks :)

(Aug 27 '11 at 13:08) Taz155

I totally agree with this. I can quite easily go out and drink soda all night, i just am abit of a beer geek and love certain beers, even tho i'm only 16, and i will only drink beer as my only alcoholic beverage, nothing else. And only certain types, but i have just as much fun drinking soda. You are a smart one and i think you are going to do the right thing, it sounds as if you are smart enough to decide when it is right for you to start drinking, and you will do well in life.

(Aug 27 '11 at 13:42) Michael Graham

Well thankfully I haven't started so really I only know how to have fun without alcohol, which is good I guess. As I said, when the time is right. And I hope I do well but it's a long road before I can say I have. :)

(Aug 27 '11 at 18:47) Taz155

1	I do not drink alcohol so my answer in NEVER... NADA NO WAY JOSΈ answered Aug 27 '11 at 11:46 spock9898 31●1 If only it was that easy... (Aug 27 '11 at 18:50) Taz155

well you can drink and have fun without getting smashed.. I would advise however that the first time you get reeeeaaaaaalllllyyyyy wasted do it at a safe location like home or at your best friend.. you never know what's gonna happen :P

answered Aug 27 '11 at 15:04

Yarvaxea
4.0k●56●72●113

Unlike Yarvaxea, i dont condone having drunken sex.

But temperance is a virtue

(Aug 27 '11 at 16:26) Enrico

well because of drunken sex I've had four different STDs >.<' but I don't condone it.. just be careful and you will probably regret it in the morning^^

(Aug 27 '11 at 16:39) Yarvaxea

Not sure I want to go down that road haha.

(Aug 27 '11 at 18:50) Taz155

drunken sex? it ain't that fun i think.. basically alcohol is a downer (that's something medical) it means less sensation and less control

i mean, if you wanna have a gret sex, why should you loose both? and if you're using alcohol to take advantage., that ain't good either,.

and having sex with a girl that has STD just for alcohol's sake? is like eating rotten mango for me. sorry that's just me.

(Sep 02 '11 at 01:42) xedric14

I'm 14 and I usually just have a few sips if im getting pressured, and i literally don't feel a thing. It depends on who you are though, some people get drunk very easily.

answered Aug 27 '11 at 16:07

bayareacat
641●38●45●55

Do you not feel it's bad if you're being pressured? Thankfully I've never been in that position and my best mate appreciates I don't want to drink and he's fine with it.

(Aug 27 '11 at 18:49) Taz155

'cause it's just a few sips of beer. try a few sip of vodka/gin. :))

and yea beer is cheap. I've had a girlfiend who never gets drunk out of beer. (she looses all the drunkness after she pees)

so yea, it's easy to gain tolerance to beer. then you look for more, you might get into hard drinks then harder then you are now a drunkard. hahahah...

but tell you, there are a lot of better things fun things to do other than drinking beer

(Sep 02 '11 at 01:45) xedric14

8, No sooner no later....

answered Aug 27 '11 at 09:58

Jackster1337
8.5k●177●213●300

My dad game me beer when I was 7, didn't like it,when I was 15 in a wedding he game me another one.... tasted bad as Sh!t. I guess it depends on the people. I actually don't like any carbonated beverage, w/e is beer,wine,coke,pepsy anything that is carbonated I just don't like it.

(Aug 27 '11 at 10:45) Patxi

then go for shots^^ jägermeister is pretty nice, also tequila, a good vodka or the best: Captain Morgans finest Rum! omnomnomnomnomnom

(Aug 27 '11 at 17:06) Yarvaxea

0	when ever the hell you want....but not to much.... answered Aug 27 '11 at 10:05 Andrei_Iurea 970●31●41●52

Never! I am 19 years old now, and i tried to drink alcohol when i was 14 and i liked it , started to drink more. And then one day i asked myself "is this really necessary?" answer to that question was no. Since i was almost 15 years old i sad no to alcohol and peer pressure and since then i only drink maybe one non-alcoholic beer in 3 or 4 moths. Believe me , world is better without alcohol.

answered Aug 27 '11 at 10:59

Ivan Tomica
1.3k●27●33●52

Well I have tried it and didn't like it but I'm young and you need to create a taste for this kind of stuff. So I'm not completely saying no to it yet, but I won't be drinking until I think it's right.

(Aug 27 '11 at 18:49) Taz155

I would say try to keep it above 2 years old :)

It is hard to tell what age is right for drinking alcohol. for me I don't see my self drinking alcohol (I have tried a sip of beer before and it was the worst thing I ever tasted).

I don't see the point in drinking alcohol. Drinks like regular soda are significantly cheaper and taste much better.

If you are interested in alcohol then nothing we say will prevent you from trying it, so I recommend you try some beer, the taste will put you off of drinking alcohol.

answered Aug 27 '11 at 11:01

Razor512
15.6k●34●80●242

drinking beer is NEVER about the taste. you don't let your tongue appreciate it. you let your brain do.

hahahaha it's worth a try you know. maybe 5x12oz bottles? just like riding a roller coaster ride. you ride it once., (or once in a while) but not forever. :))

(Sep 02 '11 at 01:49) xedric14

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