My Father was real cool about it. He had booze in the house and told me early on: "Son, you'll never have to sneak around to try liquor...If you want something, tell me, I'll pour it and we'll drink it together"...Sort of took the "mystery, temptation and intrigue" away, and I never had the urge to "sneak booze" as a kid.

(I would have felt creepy if he'd said the same thing about girls, however) ;)

I could be wrong about your state but around here they post signs that nobody under 21 is allowed in a liquor store, so I have always interpreted that as kids shouldn't accompany their parents into one.

It's probably a bad idea anyway, as I have raised a couple kids and they seem to have been more likely to drink because they saw their parents doing so, even though we just usually drink wine with a meal, or whatever. It's not like we are raging alcoholics and we never threw parties where everybody got plastered.

The presence of wine/beer/liquor in the house was sometimes too much temptation for my kids when they had a friend over on a Saturday night and it sometimes got sampled. My parents didn't drink in front of us (not that they drank much anyway) and as a result I didn't drink in high school or college.

JR

The kid will see the way you use achchol and think that is what is normal. Kids are copycats of their parents.

When I was a kid my parents would take me to to LV once or twice a year..(they dragged me everywhere).... I saw gambling at a very early age..and today even though I live in the gambling capital of the world, I won't even put a dime into a machine. I see it for what it is.

For Mother to put a quarter into a machine was for her to throw it away and I feel the same way.

So the answer is, so what if your kid is in a liquor store. its just another store. I worry mnore about your concern about the issue than the issue itself.

I think it's ok for a minor to be present, they're just not supposed to be handling the booze.

My parents never drank. To this day, I've never seen either take one drink. But they took the approach of telling me, "don't drink because it's bad". They were also very strict. So of course, I spent 16-20 absolutely hammered on a regular basis. Good times.......

Honestly, I can't put it together either. Maybe it's just a little bit of my parents nagging at the back of my mind? GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

Do you really want me to tell you where this is going to lead..This little puzzle is very easy to deconstruct.

Do tell tabs, do tell. So long as it's not "parents as role models and you will follow the same path". My parents taught me how NOT to raise kids.

We have the "under 21" signs in Texas, but I always figured they meant without a parent. I've never been stopped.


I just read through the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission site on this issue and found some interesting facts about the Texas laws.

1) I found nothing on children being barred from liquor stores so it's company policy, not state law.
2) There is no law that requires a person to provide valid ID to buy liquor, but it is an affirmative defense against selling to a minor if the seller saw a valid TX DL which lead them to believe the person was 21 or older.
3) It is illegal for a minor to consume alcohol, but it is an affirmative defense if the minor was in the presence of a parent or guardian.
4) It is illegal for an adult to serve alcohol to a minor, but it is an affirmative defense if the adult is their parent or guardian.

My father took me all the time when I was a kid. He'd buy a bunch of Schlitz quart bottles to stack the fridge at home.

Is high school me and a buddy bought a few cases with our fake ID's at a local packy and I was walking out with one one my shoulder and who do I bump into on the way out?.....of course, my father. He just said "have fun guys" and walked in to get his. Still laugh thinking of that one...

I remember being in a liquor store at a young age with my grand mother, but not my parents. However, in high school the family would hit the pizza joint every now and then, and we'd order a pitcher or two, get several glasses and drink beer while eating dinner together. Pretty cool times.

One Sunday when I was 17ish, we stopped for beer on the way home from church(after 12pm on Sun. you can buy). I hopped out of the car, walked in, bought a case of beer and walked out. When I got back in the car, my brothers (older) were laughing their asses off, my mom on the other hand, wasn't. Hearing my brothers tell that story at family functions/holidays never gets old.

It was a real treat for me to go with Dad to the 'Pop shop' (Pop as in soda). My parents used to enjoy a small glass of sherry before Sunday dinner (they probably still do but I'm not there to tell). At the rate they drank it a bottle used to last three or four months, so trips down there were rare but Dad sometimes let me choose a bottle of fizzy pop which was the only time we'd really have it at home. The only other thing I remember was Dad taking the soda siphon down there every now and again to get replaced. As being as he was using soda water I'd guess he was drinking it with whisky but I don't recall seeing him buying it.

As far as I am concerned with my boys we do occasionally have to call into a 'beer shop' if I see one so I can look over the shelf to see if they have any interesting Scotch. I don't recall ever having bought anything when they were with me though. They only come in because I don't want to leave them in the car and they usually groan "Not again!" so it isn't something they will ever associate with pleasure. They couldn't be less interested. :)

can't say I've ever thought twice about taking kid into liquor store. it's not exactly an opium den or anything.

i felt like i was in the inner circle when my dad walked me through a casino the first time. i got my first boner, when i saw the cocktail waitresses...

liquor stores, are just a store. that sells the "nectar of the gods".

It depends on the liquor store. Some of those stores, not too far from me, are liquor fortresses - rough neighborhood. One store has a cashier counter on a 3 foot high platform; I guess for a better look at the snack shelves. In addition, the cashier is packing some very visible artillery. In fact, so too are his buddies on either side of him. Hmmm, must be those troublemaker kids from the nearby grammar school.

Not too long ago, near the LA Coliseum, some mom and pop grocery stores were partitioned such that the first room upon entering was just an empty space, but with a small window about 5 feet from the ground. Behind was the cashier. He took your order and had it filled in back. You give him cash, he gives you your goods.

I think that reduces excessive squeezing of peaches and tomatoes. :)

I guess that might generate some interesting conversations with your 5 year old. BTW, it's bad form to swig your beer out of a brown paper bag. Instead, use a paper cup.

Sherwood

Late last year i was in Brisbane.
I took my 16yo to the bottle shop for a case of beer.
I had a mad back injury, so i couldnt lift anything.

Buying it was ok, but when i asked my son to grab the slab off the counter, it became an issue!
It seems he wasnt even allowed to carry it from the counter to the door. 2mtrs!

I explained that i couldn't do it, so the retailer had to........begrudgingly!

Stupid laws!........stupid times!