Parents should introduce their children to alcohol at home to help prevent them binge drinking in the future, David Cameron said today.
The Tory leader said his friends with the biggest alcohol problems were those who were 'never allowed to drink anything at home'.
Those who had been allowed small amounts to drink at mealtimes were now the most responsible drinkers, he said.
His stance is at odds with that of the Government, which is planning to set a new age limit telling parents when it is acceptable to give their children alcohol at home.
I think you'd have a hard time proving that. What if the parental example is irresponsible drinking, or alcoholism? Still, I think the proposed law is ridiculous.
Currently, the law allows parents to give any child over the age of five alcohol in a private setting.I think it's fair to say we wouldn't want children getting inebriated, and the law should reflect that, but allowing a child to have a small taste of wine at Christmas or Thanksgiving or whatever the occasion should be left to the parent.
But experts expect Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson to recommend an advisory age limit of 12 or more at which children can be offered their first taste of alcohol.
Look, do we want the child to understand white wine with turkey, or MD 20/20? Should he or she learn the proper way to make a martini, or should their drinking experience start with drinking Mohawk Vodka from the bottle?
Next we'll have laws that won't allow adults to drink in front of children.
Meanwhile the nannys in this country will soon be debating the minimum proper age to eat at Church's Fried Chicken, or at least the minimum socio-economic status. For those of us still allowed to eat what we want, I suggest a Jack & Coke as an appropriate accompaniment.
