The recent report from Alcohol Concern that alcohol should be prohibited from children at home under 15 feels wrong. Lucy and I had already discussed when Oscar should get some wine and we decided 12 was a good age. Essentially the same age as we both started. The French do seem to have a healthier attitude to alcohol, being disapproving of being drunk in public. Caroline Flint correctly pointed out that this law would be unenforceable.
The rise in drinking in teenage and pre-teenage children is worrying, but as prohibition showed in the USA, bans only increase the attraction. The overall culture towards drink is amiss in the UK. Drinking for the sake of getting drunk is too popular in the UK. I'm quietly hoping that the smoking ban will encourage a less alcohol focused evening culture in the UK.
