Primary School selling beers at sports day?

MarilynMonroe_2

Well at the end of the day some parents are for and some are against, this could go on forever... for me if my daughter was doing sports day and they were selling booze to the parents I would let my feelings be known that I don't agree with it.

Savvy_Sue

Dunroamin wrote: »

There's a difference between someone having a drink problem and someone drinking to excess at a very public and inappropriate place.

True, but when children on their way home from the very respectable school see a schoolfriend's parent collapsed in the street with the police in attendance, the difference is hard to see.

bylromarha

Lets face it - there is so much non alcoholic beer/wine/cider on the market these days, why is an alcoholic drink needed to be sold at these events?

Alcohol ruins far too many childrens lives - school is the only place they feel protected from it.

pigpen

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

True, but when children on their way home from the very respectable school see a schoolfriend's parent collapsed in the street with the police in attendance, the difference is hard to see.

Or in the case of my then aged 10/11ish OH.. the police smashing in the front door when he gets home from his private school with ALL the neighbours and their children curtain twitching and gossiping .. classy bird my 'middle class' outlaw!!

angelil

securityguy wrote: »

Indeed. You've been to France, I take it?

I live in France. Sorry to shatter the illusion of the Bacchic French lifestyle, but people here do NOT drink every day - and when they do, it tends to be a much smaller glass than Brits would consider normal. Dunroamin is right when (s)he says that the only people that you see totally clattered in France are the Brits (although the Aussies give them a pretty good run for their money ). Sadly, Idiophreak's wife's experience is very much the exception! I'm a teacher here and Alikay's version of our lunchtimes is very much closer to the truth (sandwich over admin...rather than a couple of glasses of vin rouge every lunchtime). Even around a family dinner table they may not get through an entire bottle in one sitting (yep, they put the rest of the bottle away for another day). I think that there are a LOT of problems with how Brits perceive drink and it's one of the reasons I moved to France. I've cut down my alcohol intake considerably since being here (and I'm in my 20s...hardly an old fogey with heart and liver problems!).

Back to the topic at hand, I do not see the problem with selling alcohol at an event like this (although OF COURSE refreshments should also be provided for children...ideally free of charge...that's a no-brainer, surely). As others have pointed out, there's no need to believe that one drink should set one on a pathway to total inebriation. Despite my comments above, some Brits do know how to control themselves When I was at primary school (in the 90s) they used to sell mulled wine at the Christmas fair. The primary school where my mother worked (in the 2000s) sold alcohol at its May Day fete. Is that any different? Did anyone complain? I doubt it, or the schools would have likely stopped doing it. I think that schools and parents have a responsibility to teach children about a responsible attitude to alcohol - and that includes teaching considered decision-making about whether or not to drink alcohol in situations where it may be present. If adults can model a good example (and most can) then I don't see the problem with that.

moneysaymoneydo

Oh so private schools have parents with drink problems also? :eek: gosh who would Adam n Eve it!

securityguy

bylromarha wrote: »

Lets face it - there is so much non alcoholic beer/wine/cider on the market these days, why is an alcoholic drink needed to be sold at these events?.

Because they taste like !!!!, is one pretty good reason.

And if it's about "sending a message", you could try aiming for a little consistency: is your problem that kids are seeing adults drinking, or adults are getting drunk? If the former, then cans of alcohol free (small type) Beer (large type) are precisely the problem you're trying to solve; if the latter, then the solution is to remove people who get drunk.

pigpen

moneysaymoneydo wrote: »

Oh so private schools have parents with drink problems also? :eek: gosh who would Adam n Eve it!

Shush.. don't tell people!!! It is a national secret! ... The way prices are rising they will soon be the only ones who can afford to have a drink problem!!!

moneysaymoneydo

Don't know pigpen I would imagine the school fees are going up as well :rotfl:

I would imagine they would prefer a nice magnum of Moet as opposed to a warm house lambrini!

365days

securityguy wrote: »

Because they taste like !!!!, is one pretty good reason.

And if it's about "sending a message", you could try aiming for a little consistency: is your problem that kids are seeing adults drinking, or adults are getting drunk? If the former, then cans of alcohol free (small type) Beer (large type) are precisely the problem you're trying to solve; if the latter, then the solution is to remove people who get drunk.

Who is going to do the removing exactly??

The teachers? Other parents?

Great sports day!! Not.