What is Your Drinking Experience?

[House Cat]

Did your parents give you alcohol as a child? Sips from their beers? Small glasses of wine? When you were a teenager, did they buy alcohol for you? Were they very strict and not allow any alcohol at all?

What was your drinking experience as a teenager? What was your drinking behavior through your college age and early adulthood? Do you feel your parents' behavior surrounding alcohol influenced your drinking? If they allowed you to drink as a child, did that lead you to drink more or less, etc?

Were any of your parents alcoholics?

How is your drinking now?


My parents were alcoholics. For as far back as I can remember (three years old,) I was allowed to sip off their beers. My stepdad is not an alcoholic but he is Italian. He allowed me to have a little bit of wine mixed with water with dinner whenever I wanted. After the first time, I never wanted it.

I drank three times in high school. When I turned 21, I had no idea what I was doing. I have no tolerance for alcohol and get drunk on one drink. I've made a fool of myself a few times. Because of this and my history with my parents, drinking never became my thing.

Now, I might drink on an extremely rare occasion.

 

[OreoRosies86]

VERY strict drinking rules growing up. Don't drink, don't even ask. My brother was killed in high school by a drunk driver and I knew it was a subject not to be tested.

I was never a heavy drinker. I don't enjoy the taste of alcohol. I'd be much more inclined to get stoned and eat a bag of Smartfood than to get drunk. In college/after college I'd order a white russian or any drink that didn't taste alcoholic. I don't like wine, most of my friends did the typical shots/girly cocktails.

I've grown to like beer. I keep a few beers in the fridge. I don't drink to get drunk.

 

[the_mother_thing]

One beer on Sundays as a mid-teen (Italian family but I didn't care for wine then). 18-19 - whatever (in moderation of course) so long as keys were checked with the 'rents, but of course my friends & I hit a few bars in town (it was the beach, they knew us and never carded, we were responsible). My 21st bday (hubby was deployed); was a week night, co-horts took me out - I had two drinks, and was home in bed by 9 pm. Since I 'partook' <21, it really wasn't a big deal to me when the time came; still isn't. I have 3+ cases of wine less than 15' away from me and I don't remember the last time I cracked one open ... maybe the holidays.

Dad - slightly-more than social-drinker (but jovial/fun; not abusive or anything).
Mom - <1 drink/month. Just not her thing.


Now coffee ... whole different beast!

 

[sonnyjane]

Good questions. I don't mind answering candidly. Responses in bold next to the questions:

Did your parents give you alcohol as a child? Sips from their beers? Small glasses of wine? When you were a teenager, did they buy alcohol for you? Were they very strict and not allow any alcohol at all? Very strict. My mom didn't drink, my step-dad did but it was off limits. I never drank a drop until after high school.

What was your drinking experience as a teenager? What was your drinking behavior through your college age and early adulthood? Do you feel your parents' behavior surrounding alcohol influenced your drinking? If they allowed you to drink as a child, did that lead you to drink more or less, etc? Mentioned above, but I didn't drink anything until after I graduated high school. When I got to college for freshman orientation week is when I had my first drinks. Instant binge drinker. I think it's very likely that if they would have educated me more about alcohol, I may not have gone so "crazy" in college.

Were any of your parents alcoholics? Both my bio dad (divorced when I was 7) and my ex-step-dad (the divorced when I was 19) were alcoholics.

How is your drinking now? I still drink more on the heavy side of the scale. Not daily. Typically just weekends, but when I drink, I have a whole bottle of wine, or a a couple of mixed drinks with several ounces of liquor each. Sometimes I'll go weeks without having anything to drink, but I do enjoy drinking and I enjoy feeling drunk socially.

 

[chrono]

When we have a BBQ, we might be offered sips of their Guinness Stout on the rare occasion.
Once a year, we get to sip a mixture of half sprite + half hard liquor.
Other than that, we are alcohol free. They do not buy alcohol for us.

I hated the taste of beer and wine growing up. I do like hard liquor but was cautious about only taking small sips once a while in my college years. I don't like not being in control, which means I also avoid getting tipsy. There's no way I am going to let myself become drunk.

I am quite sure my parents' outlook on alcohol has a strong influence on my drinking. It was only allowed rarely on special occasions and only in minute quantities. When they drank, it was also rarely and never to the point of becoming tipsy.

 

[lovedogs]

I hate alcohol--just never was able to "get used" to the taste. The only drinks I like are ones where I can't taste any alcohol I also dislike how alcohol makes me feel--I'm on medication that makes me feel "tipsy" after 1/2 a drink, and then I get horrific hangovers. Sometimes if I have 1 hard rootbeer (the ONLY beer-like thing I've ever liked) I'll never feel tipsy but still wake up super hungover. It's horrible.

I drank in high school some, and in college a bit. Nothing too crazy, but definitely more than I drink now (prior to being on the medication). My parents let me have sips of alcohol, but neither drinks much. Just not something I ever really liked doing, even when I was "supposed" to be liking it (in high school and college when everyone else liked it).

EDIT: I've never seen either of my parents tipsy, much less drunk. They don't seem to care for it much either, but they drink more than I do (e.g. glass of wine if we're out to dinner). They don't actively dislike it, they just don't seek it out.

 

[lyra]

I had a margarita and a mimosa last year. I don't drink. I just don't like the taste or the effects.

I drank a bit as a teen. I might have gotten drunk about 3 times total. Our drinking age is 19.

My dad and several family members were functioning alcoholics. At times it was awful to me. My dad died at 52. I was never given any rules about drinking really. I basically grew up with just a curfew and nothing else.

We have lots of alcohol in the house. Some really special stuff from my husband's travels. He enjoys acquiring it, then mostly giving it away. Or we end up cooking with it sometimes.

 

[jordyonbass]

My father would give me sips of his beer when I was a kid but I usually hated it and never really liked it. When I was 16 I discovered the joys of Jim Beam and coke and for the next 4-5 years you would more likely be testing for blood in my alcohol stream than the other way around. My mates and I would drink 1/5th of whiskey each and play rugby the next day - not exactly the greatest feeling the next day when a guy is driving his shoulder into your unprotected, whiskey-filled guts while both running full speed at each other!! When I was of legal drinking age (18 here in Australia) I was spending my spare time and money at heavy metal clubs on their drinking specials, maximum effect for minimum cost!

When I was 19 I met my wife and the drinking slowed down a lot, we were still social and would go out etc but I wasn't smelling like a brewery for the entire weekend, I was enjoying finer alocoholic drinks for flavour instead of effect. But when I had just turned 22 I took over a pub and it literally killed any desire I had to drink. I turn 29 in 6 weeks and ever since then I have only been properly-drunk once. And no, it wasn't at my wedding or bucks night

 

[bunnycat]

I was always allowed to have sips when I was little. Later, I could order something when out to dinner with parents. High school and college some normal silliness. As I grew older I was interested less and less in drinking and I never really was a party goer. Now I might share something with hubby if out to dinner or sample a sip of his scotch of an evening or occasionally having something like a mimosa maybe a couple times a year. It just leaves me feeling too bleh even after just a little most of the time.

Neither of my parents drink heavily, mostly just on a social occasion like out to dinner, though we did have an alcoholic in the family. He has since reformed.

 

[Phoenix]

This is an issue very close to my heart. I have a thread about this somewhere.

Mum never ever drank. Dad drinks, on a daily basis, but it's all red wine. He's 94, going on 95. He used to, many many yrs ago, drink hard liquor, but mum didn't like it; so she threw all the bottles away and he hasn't touched hard liquor since then.

We never ever used to drink as children. None of us, dad included, has ever been an alcoholic. I started drinking at the age of 15 and used to drink a lot; and by a lot, I mean like 3-5 glasses of wine or beer or G&T's each time - not all together, just one of those choices. I would drink socially with friends and also with colleagues after work. This was in London and in Hong Kong, where I was hanging out with heavy drinkers and there was peer pressure to drink too; and as a consequence, I'd drink often and a lot. I'd say I drank on a daily basis. This carried on for many years, even when I moved to where I am right now. However, I think I got really stupidly drunk - like throwing up - twice or three times during all this time. I never did anything more stupid or got into any kind of trouble, thank God!!

Fast forward to my 40's, I decided I'd had enough. My health was suffering, ie. I was putting on weight and my hair and skin becoming very dry, but thankfully my liver was and is still fine. Mind you, I'd always liked going to the gym and working out but I was getting quite a bit heavier and didn't like it. So, I gave up drinking and went totally teetotal for the whole year. My weight just melted away and I looked and felt soooo much better. Then something happened (which I shan't go into), I went back into drinking and put back some - but not all - of the excess weight. But I was not as heavy as before and I was really conscious of it nonetheless. I wrote on here and got a bunch of advice - thank you PS'ers.

At the beginning of last year, I started getting really fit, signed up with an awesome personal trainer. Started eating even more healthily and training heavily and seriously. Lost a bunch of weight, gained lots of muscles, my body fat went down significantly. My PT asked me to give up drinking also. I went completely cold turkey again. But now, I drink occasionally, and each time 1-2 glasses of wine max. I can go for several weeks without drinking. I can refuse a drink and have been out on occasion where everyone else was drinking and I was just having water. I enjoy a nice glass of wine or champagne from time to time and consider this my "treat". I'm at peace with it now, knowing that I can drink or not drink and not have to obsess about my decision - I know I now have this truly conquered.

 

[telephone89]

My mom left my dad because he was an abusive alcoholic. She was staunchly no alcohol. For reference, legal age in Canada is 18/19.
so I didn't drink at all until like 15. Then I got on coolers (ugh). I didn't drink a lot, but would partake. I drank off and on until I was legal, and drank quite a bit from 20-25. There was one point during that time where I would have absolutely considered myself an alcoholic. It was not a good time. It taught me a lot though. I know I have an addictive personality, and can develop an unhealthy relationship with alcohol if I'm not careful. Now I still drink, but I try not to during the week. If I drink during the week I have to limit myself to only 1. I cannot go to work hungover, I get nothing done!

 

[ruby59]

I grew up having a glass of Manischewitz wine for the Sabbath meal and to celebrate holidays.

I used to enjoy a glass of white wine in the evening or a watermelon margarita when my husband and I went out to dinner.

But now that I am a diabetic, because of the sugar in alcohol and the meds I take, I cannot drink anymore.

 

[TooPatient]

My grandparents were strict about legal age - 21 - and I think that is where my parents got the idea. I never had even a sip until I moved out at 19. Then I would have maybe 1/4 glass of wine 3 nights a week or so. Now I have less than a glass of wine or 1 cider or 1 beer (usually 1/2 or less) or 1 ounce of brandy per night. Maybe 5 nights per week. DH and I follow my strict rule -- no more than those quantities listed above. Pick one. No more.

I like the taste of what I drink. If I don't, I don't drink it. If I have not had food or water recently, the drink waits until later.

My step daughter gets 1/4 glass of wine at Shabbat dinner if she had water during the day only after eating part of her dinner. Moscatto with 5.5% alcohol. Discussions of alcohol content (show bottles so she can find and know to look) and what can cause it to absorb faster so feel stronger.

Both of my parents are alcoholics. My mother is a recovering alcoholic -- 10+ years sober then fell off now coming up to 2 years sober. My father is a violent drunk whom I choose to have no contact with. I spent my 30th birthday getting my brother out of the ER after he was found passed out in front of a brewery (still not sure how he survived that much alcohol). One uncle drank until he died of cirrhosis. Another died of alcohol poisoning. My last uncle failed at suicide attempts and then just vanished.

This had more influence on my drinking than anything. I will not allow alcohol to control my life. Hence I drink a little of what tastes good but within strict guidelines so I don't drift into a problem. This is also a factor in teaching my step daughter. I want her to know healthy limits, appreciate good tasting drinks (no cheap college stuff!), and not see it as a forbidden exciting thing.

 

[madelise]

I started drinking when I was 15 in HS, with peers. It turned into heavy party drinking by 16. I was done by 18, and over it. I never liked drinking again until this past summer, when I finally grew a taste for wine ar 28. I despise hard alcohol as it reminds me of too many drunken vomit sessions from staying up all night being an idiot.

My family doesn't drink, minus my uncle who used to have a drinking problem. I believe he only drinks wine now, and on rare occasions. My grandparents view drinking on the same line as doing drugs. A big no-no.

My mom never drank either but went through a stage where she was buying fruit wine. No idea why. But she let me try it st 13. It was gross. She got over her stage soon.

My husband's family is big on drinking. Like BIG. His 17 year old cousin just got to pop a very expensive bottle of bubbly for her birthday with the family. That would've been a giant sin in my family. His dad snuck vodka in water bottles at our wedding and told me to "hydrate", and I chugged it unknowingly and spit it out. They're big party people. So my husband grew up as a party person. Drank a lot. Partied a lot.

I guess we evened each other out? He doesn't drink much now other than beers from specific breweries we visit and I've now started drinking wine. So we're both mellow drinkers.

 

[missy]

I rarely drink. My parents rarely drink. My dh enjoys a cocktail or 2 when we go out and occasionally before dinner at home but he has cut back over the last number of years. It is hard for the liver (and other organs) to process alcohol especially as we get older and we have both seen the detrimental effects drinking too much can have on the body.

 

[Rhea]

Did your parents give you alcohol as a child? Sips from their beers? Small glasses of wine? Yes, if I could reach for it and indicate I wanted it, I was allowed to try it. I recall being given a taste of my mother's wine from a teaspoon at a very young age. I didn't like it much.

When you were a teenager, did they buy alcohol for you? Were they very strict and not allow any alcohol at all? No, they wouldn't buy it for us. If it was Christmas, New Year or some other occasion where the adults were drinking with a meal we could try it.

What was your drinking experience as a teenager? I didn't.

What was your drinking behavior through your college age and early adulthood? Once I was able to purchase it I did, but a glass a couple times a week was about as crazy as I got.

Do you feel your parents' behavior surrounding alcohol influenced your drinking? If they allowed you to drink as a child, did that lead you to drink more or less, etc? Yes, I felt I had a good understanding of it. It wasn't out of bounds, discussion was encouraged, my parents knew there was a good chance either their children or their peers would experiment. I drank less than a lot of my peers and never went crazy at college. I was the judgemental bitch standing at the back of the room, sober, shaking my head at other's antics. In high school we had house rules we could evoke about parents not questioning us if we ever needed assistance for us or a friend.

Were any of your parents alcoholics? No, my grandfather might have been.

How is your drinking now? I drink a very small, about 100 ml (3.38 oz) glass of wine OR half a beer a day (about 9.5 oz) a day, normally with dinner or while cooking. Sometimes it's a larger glass of wine or a whole beer. If we're out, which is about once every 4-6 weeks, I'll drink more, then we normally split a bottle of wine or I'll have a couple pints of beer. I'm more of a drinking daily person while my co-workers always gave me shit, calling me an alcoholic for daily drinking, but then got completely trashed on weekends.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

My father was a raging alcoholic when I was little, even after my mom passed away when I was eight. It took him a couple of years and a woman to inspire him to get sober.

I wasn't given anything as a kid, never tried a beer or anything. In high school I met some friends who would drink screwdrivers after school, so that was my first drinking/getting drunk experience, I think I was 14. After that I would steal sips of white wine on occasion from the fridge if it was there but nothing regular.

As an adult I didn't drink much except on holidays I would drink to ease the anxiety of dealing with my husband's family. Fast forward ten years and word is getting around that I have a drinking problem although nobody asks DH or offers any concern or help, just gossip. I stopped drinking at holidays after that.

So now I don't drink but maybe once a year, usually too much because I have a low tolerance. I hate beer (probably b/c that was Dad's drink of choice) and generally don't care for the taste of anything except vodka and cranberry. DH drinks on occasion but no regular drinking.

 

[PierreBear]

With my Asian genes, I find it either a blessing or a curse that I am generally allergic to alcohol. My heart starts beating fast and my face turns flush. I feel more "sick" than the other good feelings you get from drinking. In college and in some work settings earlier on my career, I would nurse a beer/glass of wine for the entire evening. Now, I don't even both and only sip what my husband's drinking to just educate my palate as I still am curious to why people are fond to the taste. Perhaps I have an aversion to it given my tolerance levels but I rather drink coffee or a smoothie instead! In general, I can tolerate a beer within 2 hours but I recall my father turning bright red even if there was alcohol in desserts!

 

[baby monster]

My parents served alcohol at all social occasions. I was allowed to taste anything on the table starting around 9-10 and to have wine or champagne after 16. Drinking rules were discussed and I wasn't allowed to drink outside the home. Alcohol was always served with food as means to enhance taste of food and create pleasant social atmosphere at dinner. My parents even made small batches wine as a hobby. No one would get wasted. No alcoholics in the the family. So to this day pounding alcohol like drinking beer after beer or doing shots in a bar is anathema to me.

I didn't drink in high school or college because my father strongly discouraged drinking outside the home. It had to be in a controlled environment. In our late 20s, my friends started getting into wine so I did too. Now we do dinner parties and bring bottles of wine to each other's houses. None of my friends are into hard liquor or mixed drinks. I enjoy the taste of good wine paired with a meal so DH and I often have a glass with dinner once kids are in bed.

My parents behavior definitely influenced my behavior. I never viewed alcohol as forbidden pleasure because it was always available. Rules were laid out and appropriate behaviors modeled. I hope to do the same with my kids.

 

[monarch64]

I grew up in a dry household and my mother was vehemently anti-booze. Her parents were allegedly both alcoholics, and my father drank nightly but never at home--just at the bar on his way home from work. I never had a drop until I was 17, the summer before I went to college.

I drank heavily during college although I managed to work part time and make the Dean's list most semesters after I changed majors/took a short break. I drank to feel tipsy and many times would be drunk but never to the point of getting sick, and people used to tell me they had no idea I'd even been drinking. That was kind of a wake-up call.

I've made some bad decisions the years I've had several drinks several nights a week. I'm much more careful now about the frequency and quantity when I drink. I prefer actually enjoying my wine now rather than drinking 1/2-1 bottle at a time just to relax/have fun. I appreciate food/wine pairings and have a good friend/client with an extensive collection who picks bottles for me, and a circle of friends who are foodies and also appreciate good wines. I'm not completely snooty about drinking now, though. I will crush a mimosa at brunch (or a couple) not necessarily made with good champagne, and I love to sample craft beers and sours. I live in a university town with tons of pubs, breweries a few wineries nearby, and a spirits distillery, so the culture here is very conducive to drinking, but there is also a huge emphasis on quality over quantity for those older than the 18-24 demographic.

I would say that the lack of education and total forbidding of alcohol during my formative years contributed to my going overboard when I left home and went to college. I think that probably happens quite a bit to those who grow up in conservative households (as far as alcohol.) I plan to allow my daughter to sample things at home if she wants and not make booze some forbidden (and more exciting than it really is) thing based on personal experience.

Phoenix, I'm really happy for you! Thanks for sharing your experience and updating us on how you're doing. Good for you.

 

[wildcat03]

Can't remember if we were offered sips...probably. I hated the smell of beer, so I wasn't interested anyways. Starting around age 16, they'd pour us a tiny glass of wine on holidays/special occasions (like 3-4x a year). I had no interest in alcohol until I got to college. I drank a lot less than my peers in college as I was an athlete. Went through a period in my late 20s when I was probably out partying a bit more than I should have been, but it lasted a few months and probably was 3-4 times total.

Now, I rarely drink. I counted and one week last month I had 5 drinks over the week and that was a lot more than usual. It's rare for me to have more than 1-2 drinks in a week and not at all unusual for me to go a month without any alcohol without even noticing. Neither I nor my husband drinks much, which saves us a ton of money on going out to nice dinners. Generally when I have a drink it's because I want to taste that particular drink - there's a Mexican place near us that makes amazing margaritas and I love the pineapple-infused vodka martini at Capital Grille.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

My parents were very laid-back about drinking. My mother rarely drinks. I would say my father drank too much when I was growing up. The type to always have a few beers in the evening. He rarely got really drunk, but definitely had alcohol every day. When I was a teenager they were open to me drinking in front of them--they always said they'd rather I drink in front of them rather than behind their back.

I've never been drunk. I've never liked the taste of alcohol and have no desire to experience a hangover. There are a few drinks I like, but when I'm out I rarely even finish one drink. During my freshman year of college I remember looking forward to Friday and Saturday nights because the dorms were so quiet, which proves I've always been an old lady at heart.

 

[Puppmom]

My biological dad is an alcoholic - although I did not know that until I was an adult. My mother rarely drank - still doesn't - she won't waste her daily allotment of calories on beverages period. My stepfather drank daily - double shot of whiskey and a beer with dinner every night but not more than that with the exception of parties etc. here and there.

My parents were strict in general and alcohol was off limits. My best friend's parents were both alcoholics and paid very little attention to her and what she and her friends were doing. I spent a lot of time drinking at her house starting from age 13. We usually didn't get drunk because we had no money and booze costs money. We drank more for the thrill of it. I drank probably monthly from 13-16 when I became pregnant. I don't think I touched alcohol again until my 21st birthday. Then, not again after that for a while. I'm in my (very) late 30s and rarely drink. I'm just not that into it. The down side is my tolerance is very low. Two beers and I'm feeling pretty free!

 

[redwood66]

My parents drank very little. Cold beer on a hot day kinda thing. I can still remember the two times I ever saw them drunk and it was hilarious and frightening at the same time. They would offer a sip if I asked but that only took a couple times. I did not drink in HS and not too much after that. I hate the taste of beer and wine. My favorite drink is a pomegranate lemon drop martini but DH and I do not drink much at all.

 

[AprilBaby]

Stepmother was super religious so no alcohol. My dads father was alcoholic so dad didn't want to drink. First drink I had was sangria at 21. I can take it or leave it. My cousins on dads side are mostly alcoholics and two have died from it. I hate beer, red wine gives me migraines. Last year I had my pancreas resectioned and my spleen removed so the dr prefers I not have any alcohol. I do love a good rum drink!