First time i got drunk i was 12...
Then i didnt touch alcohol again till i was about 16. Went hard at it for about a year. It's what kids do. I never felt pressured to drink. And if you think your kids wont do it, you're very naive.
My parents used to buy me a 4 pack or whatever when i was underage to take to parties and NOT once did i abuse it. I drank my 4 and went on my merry way. Where as my friends who hid their drinking would wait around safeways for someone who would go in and buy them drinks and then they'd drink until they threw up.
My parents had the mentality to TRUST me. They knew what and how much i was drinking and always knew that if anything happened, i'd call them straight away.
When i turned 18 i must admit, going out to clubs and things, i went a bit crazy, but these days it doesn't interest me much at all.
I rarely see my friends these days cause thats all they do. Go out to clubs/pubs, get so drunk they vomit, go home and sleep for 2 hours and go to work very under the weather. It's not who i am.
I have drunk myself stupid 3 maybe 4 times. But yeah, i will have a social drink these days, but i don't drink to get drunk, like most of my friends who keep it from their parents.