Lovelyish

Well, if you can have it, it’s uninteresting, so I’d say, smart family policy.

lol ive seen too many ppl go to college and get crazy off the freedom. seriously when its available your more likely not to get carried away

…..europeans generally start drinking at young ages, even then. many countries still do not have a drinking age. it’s a culture thing, it’s not misguided. granted i think there is a drinking age in england (do not hold me to it) but even so, my family comes from the UK (almost all cousins and my grandparents are immigrants) and they all had a glass of wine at dinner when they were younger. some still do let their children have a small glass of wine alongside water. 

my mom also has a family friend from germany who she works with, and he allows his children a glass of wine at dinner. it’s part of their culture but he also did it so when they are teenagers (like they are now) they wouldn’t see alcohol as something they had to hide from their parents and were taught tolerance of it unlike most teenagers (most i know anyway) who go out to get so drunk they get sick. not all do, but you get what i mean. there is a vast number of them that do every weekend. i know my college sent out a letter last week saying there were way too many alcohol poisonings and drinking violations this semester, more so than usual.

my parents always let us have small sips of their drinks growing up. i think it was smart because my sister and i learned that alcohol wasn’t a big deal, and so we never went crazy once we left home. of course, if you come from a family of addictive personalities, it’s probably not as good of an idea!

She’s European, right? I don’t find it that weird since Europeans are so much more liberal with alcohol… they do it for the class and the taste, not to get drunk.

That’s how it is in much of Europe. I think it’s smart. It’s better to gradually learn how much and what type of alcohol you can handle when you’re younger, in a controlled environment. That way not only can you handle your alcohol, but it’s lost it’s new and exciting appeal by the time you’re college-aged and you’re less likely to be stupid about it.

Didn’t do her any damage so we can’t really judge her dad for doing what he did. Yet we also can’t applaud him and say it’s a smart policy because with kids you just never know.  I find there are so many inconsistencies out there. Some kids with proper upbringing turn out bad, some who don’t turn out good.

Sigh, totally looking forward to having kids of my own. LOL… Does NOT LOOK EASY.

We started drinking at the age of 5-8 ish in my family

My dad (he’s Italian) kind of raised me and my brother the same way. He had no problem with giving us a sip of his beer or wine (or coffee when we were younger). Soon enough, he’d offer me spoonfuls of rum whenever we took the bottle out for tiramisu. :p It may not have been much, but my mom, who’s Asian, was/is against it 100%. 

Oh, and he was never a fan of us ordering from the kid’s menu when we were younger.

I don’t think I’d give my kid a glass of wine when they’re 7, but in europe drinking isn’t a major thing.

I was always very picky with what I drank and ate. My mom always let me tried things I was too young for as long as it was in her supervision. I was never interested in alcohol because I could never stand the taste of anything I was offered. So while all the other college kids are raving about having alcohol at their parties so that more people will come, I’m just like “Whateves. Gimmie a Coke.”

well in england you can rink in the home with parental supervision from the age of 5 – to be honest when you drink THAT early you dont seem to like it , you dont find it such a huge deal when you go out when your older and you are given the resopnsibility and stuff like that – my parents did it – if parents dont let you have something you rebel and have in large quantities in secret – so smart prarents x

Well it obviously didn’t turn her into a party animal, that picture disregarded since it is the only one of it’s kind that I can find lol. I think it’s a smart family policy.

Note that the non-forbidden substance, served as a drink with dinner rather than a teenage aphrodisiac at an unsupervised party, held no interest for her.  I think the U.S. could take a hint from Europe when it comes to “how to expose your kids to alcohol in a tasteful and effective manner.”

my dad would give us small glasses of wine when we were younger. i don’t see anything wrong with it. i never went crazy with it. he also comes from an italian family so it was normal to him.

That’s a great way to discourage drinking. When kids have something, they don’t want it as much as stuff they don’t have.

So did I.

Evidently in her case it was smart parenting b/c then she wasn’t into that stuff when everyone else was. She was introduced young and with supervision. How is this any worse than women drinking wine when they’re pregnant? Eh.

And? We do this in our family..let the kids have a taste of the beer etc; and let the teenagers drink only at holidays. Only lightly too. And it’s all under adult supervision too. 

Smart. My family was much the same way, and growing up my sisters and I just didn’t see what the big deal was.

I feel like the way my parents treat alcohol as a “forbidden fruit” has only made me desire it more. There’s something about wanting what you can’t / aren’t supposed to have. I think this is a smart idea. 

Smart thinking. My parent’s have always been like that with me so I have no desire for it.

Oh ohh~ My dad was the only one to allow me to drink when I was younger. Not excessively, but to be able to grow the tolerance of alcohol. It was only allowed at certain occasions like a wedding or like something casual where I’m with my family. I think it was a good idea to be able to be exposed to various  drinks at a young age. There wasn’t really anything bad about it because it was just for taste, not to get drunk. 

my parents have never encouraged or discouraged me to drink. i always thought that teens who wanted to drink so badly were simply idiotic because they don’t know how to handle drinks and are delusional from all the movies, or shit the older teens spread. and of course, it is encouraged even more because in the U.S., the media represents people partying till 4 AM and people drink only to get drunk, and politics ban kids from touching alcohol. it’s just asking for stupid rebellious teens to go crazy.

drinking is over rated. wine tastes horrible. i hate it all cause it’s so nasty D:

She’s from Europe, lol.

Anyway, this is the smartest thing to do. Teach your child about alcohol and let them have some early on. At least they learn to drink in a safe environment instead of drinking until they pass out with their friends. Too many parents just avoid the sex and drug talk and hope to god that their kid doesn’t go out and do stupid shit. Rarely happens.

it’s true, if your family exposes you to it at a young age, people often don’t see it as a taboo anymore, and is less interestingto them later. for this reason, i never got into drinking while all my other classmates did.

My dad used to let me sip the rest of his beer when I was like 3 years old. 

Some people will think that’s bad, but look where she’s now. Successful, famous actress and now goes to Brown!  

I remember drinking at a very young age too. Being exposed to alcohol at a young age is good.. in a way i guess. I mean, kids who arent.. theyre so curious about it, theyd sneak it in and start drinking as much as they can.. thinking its some kind of magical drink o.o

Smart. Kids probably won’t even like it too much, and it won’t be a fad like it is with other kids because they’ve been allowed it for so long.

smart

Whatever works, works. She makes like a million trillion bucks so her parents couldn’t have screwed up too bad raising her.

….well she is from europe. Lol.

This is one thing I love about Europeans that I hate about America. They don’t censor things and make them taboo, even when they’re not even that serious. It’s not like she was getting wasted at 7. People in Europe aren’t as “OMGSKEERED” about “psychologically damaging” their children, which I think is a much better policy. It’s the same with sex. We make sex a big deal by making it this huge, taboo topic, when it really shouldn’t be.

I don’t think it’s a European thing, necessarily. I mean, I’m British, just like Emma Watson is, and I didn’t drink until I was 16 (though the legal age to buy alcohol is 18).
But we had a woman in our school a few years back, saying that legally although we are not allowed to buy drink until we are eighteen – though we are allowed to drink it from age five. Apparently. It’s good if she’s not interested in when she gets older, because that’s when you realise the full effects of it. I think it was a smart family policy.

Wow, okay, how about you do your research next time you post. C;

She’s British. Durf.

To the best of my knowledge, this is how most of Europe is. I’ve always agreed with introducing kids to alcohol (within reasonable amounts obviously) at a young age and teaching them the respect that alcohol needs. Notice how Europe/other countries who introduce alcohol at a young age have lowered rates of alcoholism compared to the US…. hrm….

My family was the same way.I think it’s good, because I’m uninterested in getting trashed like a lot of my friends. I’m generally the DD. Sure, I’ll have a drink with dinner most the time, but that’s it. Also, I know a lot of European countries have (had?) a drinking age, but if you are with your parents and they give the ok, you can have it at almost any age.

Depends on the child I guess. It’s pretty smart I think. My parents let me have coolers and stuff, but I still went over board a couple of times. 

…so? That’s the same with me, and I live in England too.

I would guess that Ms. Watson has a much more sensible attitude toward alcohol than any of her classmates.

Err…then why does that picture scream “look at me, I’m drinking!” ? 

@clandestin_e@xanga - hahaha I”m glad that you have such a positive stereotype of us but I’m afraid that is not the case . Binge drinking is a very serious problem here in the UK.

Smart? I had my first shot of beer when I was in 2nd grade for a cultural thing. I didn’t like the taste of it. When I was in middle, people were talking about drinking like it was a cool thing, but I didn’t find myself interested in it either. People were talking about sneaking in alcohol to parties and school, trying to make them look “bad” or “cool”, but I was like, well I don’t have to be sneaky about it, my parents let me drink..yeah.

Personally, I think people who drink at an early age tend to have more self control when they’re older because they don’t have the desire to want it or drink it to look cool because they’re drinking underage.

I’m just echoing everyone else in saying it’s not a big deal. Even here in America where we constantly have our panties in a  bunch about everything.
As long as there is decent parental supervision and these little kids aren’t getting wasted, I don’t see a big deal.

Although I have to give Emma some credit herself, because I was also given small sips of alcohol from my parents and I’m still kind of an alcoholic, albeit not a partier. Comes with the addictive personality, I would guess. So props to Emma for being above that.

@lifeonacitybusem4@xanga - To get people to read this article.

It depends on the child. and also the alcohol.
My dad let me drink when i was like 13 and I have no desire to do so now. So, maybe it’s smart.
but that picture of her with the Corona is pretty much hilarious.

MAKING her have alcohol probably made her happy not to have to drink it later on.

all us wee tots from NC got fed wine when we were like 5 years old, i don’t see the big deal, really

completely smart

Is anyone else confused by her shirt with the wolf and then snoopy in the corner?

It depends on the family and how much is made available to the kid. If it’s a sip here and there, then it’s a smart policy. That’s pretty much what my mom did with my siblings and I. I mean yeah, I still go to parties and shit, but I don’t go to get drunk. I go to be with my friends. If there’s a history of addicts, then it could go either way, I guess.

as everyone mentioned, many europeans drink younger. even if that weren’t the case, it’s only wine. she did not say her parents were allowing her to get drunk, not to mention it’s pretty smart for her parents to do that, because something you can do isn’t nearly as interesting as something you can’t do.

It’s the way they are in europe.  I don’t see the big deal.  It’s not like they were doing it to get her drunk and then sexual abuse her.  Sheesh.  It was just a meal time beverage.

I was raised in a fairly similar fashion.My mom and grandparents didn’t hide stuff or tell me that I couldn’t. But as my peers got into the party phase I just wasn’t interested in it.

@needmoreink@xanga - Absolutely agree with you!

I think seven is a little young, but I wouldn’t mind allowing teenagers to have a glass of wine with dinner. My mom let me have a couple drinks once in a while. I think if you act like alcohol is horrible and forbid your kids from having it, they are going to binge drink. My mom let me drink with her, so I never found the need to sneak out and get drunk. If i wanted a couple drinks we would have some wine. But my brothers weren’t allowed and they go to parties and drink til they pass out. 

i think it’s a good idea. that’s kind of how my family is and i barely drink…

My mother is Scottish and she lived in Germany for a while. She still touts Guinness as a cure for many basic ailments and says it “stoutens you up”. Rubbing whiskey on baby’s gums while he’s teething is common. I got a glass of wine at every New Years. My parents just don’t drink anymore, which is why I was so curious about drinking. I have a natural tendency to get addictions, but if my mom sees me having a drink or knows I’m drinking, it’s not like OMG DEATH. The only problem she ever had with me drinking is drinking around irresponsible people and still being legally underage. personally, I don’t think it was ever a huge deal.

Well, considering the damage alcohol can do to someone who is still developing, it’s not smart to make a habit of it. I mean, a glass of wine for a seven year old… kind of dangerous. I mean, it may not damage them right off, but if you get unlucky, giving a drug like that to someone so young can be detrimental to their health. Making it a regular thing would be stupid if you knew the effects alcohol can have, and you actually care about your child. And then, just making it a one time thing almost opens the door for it to be seen as a “special”, one-time event, so a kid is going to want it even more.

Seems like a pretty dangerous thing. Slippery slope. Done just the right way, it might could be helpful, but done the wrong way, could be fatal. Alcohol is a pretty hard drug. It’s not considered it because it’s legal, but it really is very dangerous. You wouldn’t let your kid try out heroin or cocaine so that they won’t do it in the future, but in a lot of cases, despite the popular belief that alcohol isn’t that bad, looking at it from a medical standpoint in a lot of situations alcohol is just as bad for you as some illegal “hard” drugs.

of course its misguided because at that age your brain is still developing, you shouldn’t be consuming alcohol. My parents never allowed me to have alcohol and to this day I haven’t had any or wanted any. some parents just take the easy way out and that’s what I think her parents did.

Being from Ireland I grew up with a small glass of wine at dinner from the age of around six or seven.
it’s pretty normal in that culture. I don’t see anything wrong with it.

That’s what happened to me. I remember when I was 13 or so my mom and I would go to her friend’s house and they would let me have a cooler. I have never, ever had the desire to get drunk out of my mind or go to a party. I was always supervised when I was drinking. I can have one drink, be perfectly happy and in control of myself .. and they’re few and far in between.

@needmoreink@xanga - Yep.

Okay. So I’m Asian. My parents really don’t care if I drink as long as I don’t get TOO drunk. lol. I had my first drink when I was like… six, I think?

My parents always offered my sisters and I wine, even when we were young. Let’s be serious now, one miniature glass of wine is harmless.

As everyone else said, Europeans begin drinking at a much younger age, and they don’t drink a lot. I think it’s a good thing, actually, because they learn how to drink responsibly in moderation, whereas in the united states, teenagers drink until they can’t stand up as soon as they can get their hands on alcohol.

well, personally it doesnt bother me. in denmark the age where youre allowed to buy alcohol is 16. i had my first class of wine when i was 13 at my confirmation and i got drunk for the first time when i was 14.. people in my class started drinking at 12-13 but mostly light stuff.
i find that a lower drinking age does make alcohol less intersting once they get older, seriously now i do drink every time i go out but i rarely get drunk and rarely even get tipsy.
so emmas parents parenting technique is kind of standard in many european countries.. remember, shes born in france.. the country of wine.

@la_femme_inconnue@xanga - I think the same thing.

If you hide things from kids they are only going to be curious and try it on their own time with friends that probably aren’t the best influence. This is why we don’t hide our smoking from our daughter. We don’t let her smoke but we don’t do it in secret either. I’ve seen that parenting technique pan out and I’m not too happy with the results.

Oh, shush. She’s fine.

depends on the person.

in her case, really smart:]

Smart family policy. My parents let me have a wine cooler with my cousin now and again, or a small glass of fuzzy navel when they made it for the super bowl, starting when I was like….13. So now I’m just like “eh” when it comes to alcohol. Sure, I’ll have a drink, but no reason to get carried away.

I’d say it’s smart policy. If a child watches their parents drinking responsibly, they learn the same way. 

I had my first drink at age five fishing with my grandpa. As long as you know the difference between too much and too little it shouldn’t matter. Family business anyways’ everyone else can fuck off.

uhh… she’s from Europe? tehy allow kids to drink. it’s only wine anyway. seriously get over it. also when you’re allowed to have it, it becomes unappealing to you. It becomes a social occassion. It’s not like, “I HELLA WANA DRINK” kind of thing. I think before I turned 21, I was into drinking and what not, but because I always had access to it, by the time I did become 21 it was kind of like, “oh ok, I can purchase it, but whatever.” I think it’s a smart start. It’s not like she was drowning herself in liquor so whatever.

My parents never told me to not smoke or drink when I was young. I tried my first cigarette when I was 8 years old from my older cousin. I practically choked. I’m 23 now and I’ve smoked one more time since then and that was last year. I first tried beer when I was 12-13 years old and I hated it. At family parties, my parents would let me have wine coolers and such. They never discouraged me from not trying things. I figure it was reverse psychology. “You let me choose to do what I want and I will end up choosing to do what you would want me to do.” Now, even though I don’t smoke, I do drink once in awhile, but its something that definitely doesn’t affect me. 

This is very true.  My parents have always offered me wine or even sips of their beer since I was relatively young, and guess what?  I don’t really like it.  I do like beer, but since it’s not some precious, rare thing for me, I’ll have one, enjoy the taste and not get trashed.  

I think it’s more of a European thing, a lot of my family’s French and all my French cousins will drink wine with meals or on special occasions, even the children! I think it’s less of a “forbidden fruit” to them because they’re exposed to it when they’re young, so they don’t go hog-wild crazy when they get to high school or college age. 

dude, it’s England, they are allowed to drink wine and beer by the time they are 13, and if the family lets them drink before then, no harm done. They are so chill about it. We should be too, so she drank at 7. Who cares? 

I vote smart family policy, personally. Kids have no reason to hide and binge if they already have access to alcohol and open communication on the subject with their parents. 

Maybe that’s why she’s not binge drinking…?

@clandestin_e@xanga - she is British which isn’t quite the same. The Brits do not consider themselves to be European.  As for the British attitude towards drinking, I would hardly call it healthy. Binge drinking is a big problem here and alcohol is an integral part of pretty much any occasion.

Saying this, I think Emma is a class act and her parents’ attitude towards alcohol is very good. Should my husband and I be fortunate enough to have children, I think we would adopt a similar policy.

i’ve alway had sips of wine when i was a kid. when i got older, my parents always encouraged me to drink wine with them during dinners so i was used to the substance and to slowly build up some tolerance. so i won’t go completely bonkers at the prospect of buying alcohol legally

There is nothing wrong with a small glass of wine at dinner for a child or watered down wine either if it is served in a larger glass.  As many have said before me, it is normal in Europe to expose children to alcohol at a young age in an appropriate setting.  It is not like an out of control party was happening and her parents were encouraging her to get drunk.  

I was six when my mom let me try alcohol and I hated the taste of beer until I was over 21 because of it. I got drunk at 16 for the first time and the hangover from that was enough for me to not do it again until I was 21. I think moderate exposure and proper education from a very young age are much more helpful to a childs upbringing. My friend’s daughter has known what beer was since she was three. She knows it belongs to “big girls and not little girls.” She even tells her mama that it is “bad for you, mommy!”

I think its a wise move. It never hurt me any.

sounds fine to me. she’s a millionaire actress in the most popular movies of our generation…. OBVIOUSLY someone made a good decision somewhere. you dont see her getting in trouble like Lohan or HIlton. clearly the way she was raised was a smart idea. i agree with it, maybe not that young, but i can understand why its not such taboo in europe