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Store Won’t Sell Alcohol to Dad Because Daughter’s Present
A new policy at a number of British grocery store could force parents to carry ID whenever they want to buy alcohol – ID for their kids that is.
The Brits are upping their efforts not to sell alcohol to minors, but it’s pissing off the parents who say they want to be able to walk into a store with their kids and simply buy a bottle of wine.
And the grocery stores? They think parents should be grateful.
Apparently, they’ve never had to figure out how to shop without their kids – or rustle up ID for a child who isn’t yet driving!
The idea is that adults buying with kids in tow might be contributing to the delinquency of a minor – supplying alcohol for their young charge. If the second person can provide proof they’re old enough to buy, the onus is off the shopkeeper.
But what about the kids who are being required to show ID when it’s a parent buying? I suppose if the last names match, storeowners will feel safe leaving the alcohol decision in a parent’s hands – but what about the thousands of kids whose last names don’t match their parent’s?
And what of the grandparents who take a grandchild into a store, the aunts, the uncles, the family friends? They’re adults – should buying booze really be something they can only do when children aren’t present?
As a parent, I suppose I should be grateful they aren’t selling booze to my underage kid – but if I put my child in the trust of another adult, I trust them enough to allow them to buy alcohol with my child. If I thought they’d be getting my child drunk or driving drunk with my child, I would do well to keep them away from my child!
Do you think this is fair to parents?
Image: Wikimedia
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9 Comments
amandashea17 commented on Jul 27 09 at 12:27 pmWhat is the world coming to?
Kate commented on Jul 27 09 at 1:40 pmMy husband and I were grocery shopping a few months ago, and the cashier wouldn’t sell us a bottle of wine unless we both had ID’s. I had left mine at home, so she made me leave the store to go stand in the parking lot while he bought the wine. Seriously.
leahsmom commented on Jul 27 09 at 2:08 pmI remember going to the liquor store with my dad when he would go to buy beer for a family party. Buying beer wasn’t scary or weird to me – it was just something dad did, like taking in the dry cleaning or doing the grocery shopping. It certainly never made me want to be “delinquent”!
K and R's Mommy commented on Jul 27 09 at 3:15 pmWould they rather we left our children in the car while we shop?
Greer's Mum commented on Jul 27 09 at 4:32 pmI was just shopping the other night and saw a dad with his two kids in the grocery store. When I left I saw those same kids (about maybe 6 and 7) standing outside the liquor store. Dad came out with his beer and they went to their car. I thought it was more dangerous to leave 2 kids sitting on the curb in a strip mall than to let them see (horrors!) the interior of a liquor store.
Knitty commented on Jul 27 09 at 11:13 pmK and R’s mommy, if you were to leave your kids in the car you’d probably be featured in a Strollerderby blog entry of your very own. Horrible mommy leaves kids in car for ten minutes… while buying ALCOHOL! Lawsuit! BURRRRRN HER!
Sierra Black commented on Jul 28 09 at 1:14 amThis reminds me of the time a liquor store employee refused to sell me non-alcoholic beer because I was pregnant.
Kayt commented on Jul 28 09 at 12:25 pmI had a cashier refuse to sell me booze when I had my then-four month old with me. Luckily, his boss overrode his decision, but seriously, use a little common sense here people! It’s not like he was going to get any of it!
Lara commented on Jul 28 09 at 12:52 pmnon-alcoholic beer has alcohol in it, about a tenth of what is in a typical beer. nonetheless, it is incredibly wrong of the cashier to refuse to sell to you! Also, decaffeinated coffee does have about a fifth of the caffeine that is in regular coffee, so it can definitely add up.
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