I LOVEEE this post! You are right~ we do make rules based on our experiences far too often. My husband and I were both raised that drinking is wrong. However he in a more legalistic way than I was. With our children(17, 15, 13, 11) we have chosen to have open conversations about alcohol and tatoos. Talking about the long term and short term effects and consequences has helped us all. My husband and I do not drink at all. He used to, socially. I never have~ can't stand the taste. WE decided many years ago to stop based on the poor choices that friends and family made in the use of alcohol. We have lived in communities(northern and isolated) for too many years where alcohol is used excessively as a medication, form of entertainment and abused beyond belief. People don't know how to gather together without it and they don't know to NOT bring it with them when they visit. So, like smoking, we just banned it in our house and on our acreage. It forced people to recognize their own issues and how much they rely on it as a vice. For our kids, they've smelled it, seen the drunks on the streets, seen friends hospitalized over it and seen the consequences. When they are of legal drinking age(19 here), they are free to make those decisions but based on what they know, they have all said they have no desire to go there. Honesty, openness, communication....keys to avoiding the legalistic trappings. Thanks again.