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'I'd rather you drink here': Now we know if letting teens drink at home is the safest strategy

Does the "cool" mom and dad approach make kids safer?

teens, alcohol, teens and beer, underage drinking, alcoholism study, alcohol use disorder
via Canva/Photos

Some teenage boys holding beers.

When it comes to teens and alcohol, parents usually come down to two different camps: they either forbid their children from drinking alcohol in all circumstances until they are an adult, or 21, or they allow them to drink at home because it’s safer than if they do it elsewhere. One set of parents believes that alcohol exposure will cause problems, the other thinks that if they remove the taboos surrounding alcohol, it’ll make them less likely to abuse it.

Should parents allow their teen children to drink in the home?

So, what’s the right thing for parents to do? A new study out of the University of Buffalo found that when parents allow their kids to drink alcohol, they run a greater risk of them having a drinking problem in the future. Sorry, “cool” mom or dad, allowing your place to be the party house has its consequences.

teens, alcohol, teens and beer, underage drinking, alcoholism study, alcohol use disorderTeenage boys holding blue drinks.via Canva/Photos


The study conducted by Bernard Pereda, a Doctoral Student in Psychology at the University at Buffalo, and his team examined questionnaires filled out between 2008 and 2019 by 387 adolescents starting at age 11 and their parents. The questionnaires asked the adolescents if they ever drank alcohol with their parents’ permission, even just a few sips, and if they answered yes, at what age. The researchers then analyzed the participants' drinking habits at 18 to 20.

"A robust relationship was found between parental permission to use alcohol during adolescence and increased alcohol use frequency and quantity, alcohol use disorder symptoms, and alcohol-related harms in young adulthood," the study says. It added that the age they had their first sip "was not associated with later alcohol use outcomes, suggesting a uniform risk effect of parental permission to drink."

teen girl drinking, orange juice, screwdriver, bar, alcoholismA young woman having a drink. via Canva/Photos

To put it simply, kids who were allowed to drink alcohol at home, no matter what age they started, were more likely to become alcoholics than those who did not. “We found that adolescents were more likely in young adulthood to drink more often and in greater amounts in families that allowed this practice compared with those that did not,” Pereda told The Conversation. “The risk of experiencing symptoms of alcohol use disorder and negative consequences from drinking in young adulthood was also higher. Importantly, the age at which drinking with parents’ permission began did not change this effect.”

How to talk to teens about alcohol

young people, college kids, red cups, party, co-ed party, college, beerSome young people having a party.via Canva/Photos

"But on balance, what the data tell us is that [letting kids drink at home] is not necessarily the right choice. And what it can do is it can normalize the idea of underage drinking, which is not something we want to do," Lisa Damour, author of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, told CBS News. “It's not the harm reduction approach we thought it is," she said.

When setting boundaries about alcohol with teens, it’s essential to be upfront with them without turning it into a lecture. “Have an honest, nonjudgmental, fact-based conversation with your child about alcohol,” Robert Leeman, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Sciences in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University, said according to Psychology Today. “And put away the wagging finger—the nonjudgmental part is really important. Once you start to get judgmental, people just move into defensive mode and shut down.”

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Gen X has been designated the 'worst grandparents.' Sadly, their explanation makes sense.

The latch-key generation doesn't hate their family, they're burnt out.

Photo credit: Canva

Gen X designated the 'worst grandparents' by Millennials

Generation X, typically the children of Baby Boomers born between the years of 1965-1980 tend to have a complicated reputation depending on who you ask. Some view them as a feral generation never to be spoken of poorly without consequence, while others view them as innovators pushing us into the future. But in recent years, Gen Xers have been dubbed the "worst grandparents" by social media users.

This multi-year conversation started when a video went viral calling Gen X out for being "terrible" grandparents, claiming that they never want to help with grandchildren. It didn't take long before other Millennials piled on to air their own grievances about Gen X grandparents. Most people criticizing the "new grandparents" were genuinely perplexed as to how they did not want to be more involved in the lives of their grandchildren.

Gen X; Gen X grandparents; absent grandparents; Gen X worst grandparents; Millennials; worst grandparents; Gen ZFamily baking fun in the kitchen.Photo credit: Canva

Kylie Muse reveals in a video that she felt neglected by her Gen X parents growing up, saying, "It's quite a common theme for Gen X parents to be neglectful in some capacity and it's just crazy to me how more of them haven't learned from the past 20 to 30 years, instead of these grandparents seeing their kids having kids as an opportunity to restore the health in their relationships with their kids by showing up and helping them during the hardest transition of their lives, they would rather double down and compromise their relationship with that next generation. All for the sake of hyper-individualism and pride."

@kylies.muse Gen x grandparents and their beloved empty nest 🥴 just say you hate having a family 😭 #grandparents #grandparentsoftiktok ♬ original sound - Kylie ꩜

The critique coming from the younger generation is not lost on Gen X, and they started coming out in force to respond with such vigor you'd think John Hughes had just announced the re-release of The Breakfast Club. It would seem that some of the people complaining of the lack of involvement have not considered that Gen X could have valid reasons for not immediately jumping in to take on grandparenting in the way some expect. A man by the name of John S. Blake gives a candid look into why Gen X was neglected as children and, in turn, became hype-independent at an early age.

"As a Gen X who's been on this earth long enough to have some hindsight I can tell you this, being independent at a young age is not a flex, what it actually means is capitalism is so brutal that our parents were forced to neglect their own children to stay alive. My generation was struggling so much that we had to leave our children unattended in order to produce enough so that we could afford to exist," Blake says.

@blackfluidpoet Replying to @ellens0061 #foryoupage #homealone #fyp #foryou ♬ Slippin' - Re-Recorded - DMX

But perhaps one of the most heart wrenching explanations comes from an elder Millennial who goes by the name Amazing Dea. In response to another Millennial who asks about Gen X being let off the hook, Dea shares, "Being as though you look like you might be a younger Millennial, let me go ahead and enlighten you. Generation X and older Millennials had to live through more than just this pandemic. We had the crack epidemic, we had the AIDS epidemic and let me tell you something, it was scary as f***."

Dea went on to explain that there were apartment complexes burned due to high populations of people with AIDS living in them and how they would witness people go from being completely normal to being addicted to crack in a matter of weeks. It seems that depending on socioeconomic status, Gen Xers lived wildly different lives with the common theme being growing up entirely too fast at an extremely young age.

Gen X; Gen X grandparents; absent grandparents; Gen X worst grandparents; Millennials; worst grandparents; Gen ZThree generations smiling by the sea.Photo credit: Canva

Another person kindly breaks down the confusion over why Gen X isn't rising to the occasion of being award-winning grandparents. In response to the criticism she replies, "We grew up in a different time, first of all. A lot of us, meaning me, Gen X, I was raised by boomers. A lot of us did not get raised by our grandparents. We were like the feral kids, like by 7 and 9 years old we were actually babysitting our brothers and sisters, alright."

The woman explains further in the video that Gen X doesn't want to raise their grandchildren or simply be babysitters, that there's a difference between expecting grandparents to be involved and expecting them to be babysitters.

@that1crazy72 Let’s take it a step further. You share DNA with your grandkids they are part of you not everyone gets the privilege of being a grandparent so if you are one take that as a blessing #genxgrandparents ♬ original sound - That1crazy72

In many of the response videos shared by Gen Xers, they certainly seem to love their grandchildren and children alike, but there's a discrepancy in expectation. The consensus of the forgotten generation seems to be that they had adult responsibilities much too early, were exposed to adult life experiences at a young age, and were often left to their own devices for long periods of time while also being told that their voices didn't matter.

While the argument seems to be around their lack of involvement as grandparents, they appear to be saying that they want to enjoy the freedom they didn't have as children, while being valued as a person and not a babysitter. In many follow up videos, Gen Xers gushed over their grandchildren and how they loved when they were around. It's just that they draw the line at raising them. Maybe for some, their experiences with their own childhood isn't enough to move Gen X out of the "worst grandparents" category, but for others it provides much needed context.

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Boomer and Gen X Americans share the money advice that got them through tough economic times

"Perseverance. One of our best traits."

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Boomers and Gen Xers share financial advice for making it through hard economic times.

Surviving hard economic times builds grit and character, and almost every generation has had to deal with difficult financial challenges. Two generations who are especially equipped to offer their wisdom about weathering through tough times, though, are Boomers and Gen Xers.

In a Reddit forum, member @Fit_Trifle2469 posed the question to followers: "Dear Boomers and Gen X: What got you through tough economic times?"

They followed up with more explanation behind the prompt. "Millennial here (33). I wanted to reach out and hear from those of you who’ve lived through major recessions, such as 2000 and 2008," they wrote. "I'm really interested in your perspective — not just for myself, but for others who might stumble across this thread someday when times get rough again."

Boomers and Gen Xers who have been through difficult financial times and hardships opened up to share their wisdom. These are some of their best pieces of advice for tough economic times.

penny pinch, save, money advice, saving, count moneyMoney Management GIF by Robert E BlackmonGiphy

"When I graduated HS in 1981, unemployment was 10 percent and mortgages were 17 percent. Inflation was 8 percent. I had no job and couldn't find one. That's when my step-father threw me out. I was going to be homeless so I joined the Army. It was one day at a time, one foot in front of the other and I marched on. What else can you do? Eventually things got better. Much, much better." —@Distwalker

"Perseverance. One of our best traits." —@SharonWit

"Downsize everything ......phone...phone plan.... car.... cook food at home .....pack a lunch for work....debt consolidation and make that one payment........no credit card usage..... entertainment was checking out free library books and reading them......thrift store shopping......trade/barter services and items on craigslist." —@Express-Rutabega-105

meal prep, prep meals, food prep, cheap meals, food savingsGIF by NRDCGiphy

"Don’t waste any food - plan meals accordingly so as not to waste anything, buy discounted meat, bread, fruit and veg. All meat gets cut up for meals so it can last longer - nobody gets a steak for themselves, one cheap, marinated steak cut into strips and added to rice and veggies for 3-4 meals. Eggs (they’re still cheap where I live) and a 50lb bag of potatoes are your new best friends unless you like pasta then you are much easier to feed. Get condiment packets from restaurants -my partner made an order and forgot to grab ketchup etc. I don’t miss being poor but I can still feed the fam relatively well on a very, very tight budget." —@drivingthelittles

"Living as cheap as possible out of sheer spite."—@OldLadyMorgendorffer

"I'll be adding to this list with edits as my brain dump continues:

  1. Everyone will lie to your face brazenly about layoffs - don't believe anyone when they say things are fine. The more they say everything is fine, the worse it actually is.
  2. Understand when your industry is getting f@cked and start developing alternatives or fallback options early, not AFTER you get laid off. (Software engineers right now should have realized a year ago at least their industry was getting screwed, as a specific example)
  3. Know the impact of systemic shifts (outsourcing and drive to the internet previously, AI now) and how you can counteract those as best possible, move to a role that isn't as likely to be clobbered as hard.
  4. Learn to cook healthy meals on the cheap - take out is $, but so is eating like sh!t. You can cook en-masse on Sunday and freeze for the week, but work on a plan to move to "high efficiency meal planning".
  5. Reduce your systemic expenses - if you've had "lifestyle creep" ratchet that crap back before you are in the crosshairs financially.
  6. Do your planned maintenance of stuff - now now now, later is NOT going to be better. If it's due, get it done." —@GreatResetBet

rolling stones, cant always get what you want, mick jagger, rolling stones gif, jaggerthe rolling stones GIFGiphy

"Live within your means. Avoid debt. Don’t worry about keeping up with the Jones. Focus on your partner. We in our mid 60s, lived through tough times and even though we didn’t have the income to support it, put both their children through private high school at their request. Money was tight, but there’s a lot of ways to enjoy life that don’t include having a lot of money. Remember the line from the Rolling Stones: 'you can’t always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you get what you need'." —@ethanrotman
"Save during the good times. During the ‘08 crash, we had several friends who lost their homes to foreclosure. These were all hardworking people. We had been very good about saving and living below our means. The rainy day fund helped tremendously. They say, pay yourself first. I know it can be difficult but even 50/week will grow over time." —@joysheart

potluck, potluck dinner, potlucks, potluck meal, potluck mealsPot Luck GIF by PartifulGiphy

"Do everything to keep a job, when the recession hits if you at least have a job you can pay the bills. Stop buying things except for food and must haves. Do you really need a lot of cleaning supplies? Makeup? Clothes? Dinner out? No. Cook your own food, learn to enjoy the outdoors, have pot luck dinners with friends." —@eatmore-plants
"It's honestly just lowering expectations and cutting out all but necessary expenses and shopping sales. We're still in our starter home because of the housing collapse. We were underwater for years and then the kids started school. It's about appreciating the little things." —@whatevertoad

grit, understanding, hard work, perspective, resilientRobert Redford Yes GIF by GritTVGiphy

"The things that get you through tough times emotionally are your social network, keeping perspective, and your own personal grit. The things that get you through tough times financially are things like keeping your living expenses relatively low, living below your means, putting money away for hard times, and keeping up your job skills and professional networks." —@Shot-Artichoke-4106
"We got hit hard in both recessions and it was really hard to rebound because we were young and not well-established. We made it through by living as frugally as possible and avoiding 'lifestyle creep.' Also, one thing we got in a habit of doing was every year when we got our income tax refund (back when we still got refunds), we’d pay our car insurance in full for the year, put some in the kids’ college accounts, and put the rest in our house down payment fund." —@Mammoth-Ad-4806
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Heartbroken weatherman stops mid-report to explain on live TV why he 'can't' forecast anymore

"We may be flying blind" from now on.

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John Morales stopped his report to educate viewers on what budget cuts really mean.

I hardly ever watch the news on television, especially not for the weather. It's just so much easier to pick up my phone and check Google or The Weather Channel. I just want to know how warm it's going to be or how likely it is to rain. These days, I can find that out in about 10 seconds and go about my day.

But when there's potential danger—hurricanes, storms that might knock out the power of topple over trees, tornado warnings, or threats of ice and snow—my trusty local meteorologist or weatherman is always there. All of that said, I've never once considered that I might not be able to get my weather forecast from either source, at least not accurately. It's 2025—our weather modeling should be better than ever, state of the art, right?

John Morales, a meteorologist and hurricane specialist with NBC6 in South Florida, was reporting on an upcoming storm when he suddenly shifted gears, right in the middle of the broadcast.

weatherman, weather, meteorologist, news, tv news, news anchor, viral videos, trump, doge, governmentWithout good data, we can't accurately predict the paths of hurricanes. Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Morales explains that in his 34 years of presenting the weather, he's always been able to confidently tell his viewers when a hurricane might hit, or when it might turn away. He's always been able to stand behind his data, modeling, and forecast in order to help protect the people of South Florida.

"I am here to tell you that I am not sure I can do that this year."

Why? "Because of the cuts, the gutting, the sledgehammer attack on science in general."

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Morales then pulled up a graphic instead of his usual weather map. It laid out some stark realities about severe understaffing of the National Weather Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Between brutal layoffs, employees accepting the recent DOGE buyout, and straight-up resignations, the agencies responsible for collecting weather data have lost hundreds and hundreds of valuable experts.

He also explained that due to federal government budget cuts, there's been a sizeable decrease in weather balloon launches across the country. Weather balloons are instruments that take crucial measurements of the upper atmosphere and send data that helps with forecasting. With less data available, and lower quality data, Morales say that "the quality of forecasts is becoming degraded."

That's a pretty scary thought, especially in a place like South Florida. What do you do when your local meteorologist can't predict what a powerful hurricane will do next?

"This is a multi-generational impact on science in this country," Morales warns.

Watch his passionate plea here:

Almost nine million people viewed the powerful clip on X. It was reshared over 26,000 times. Morales' message is definitely getting the attention it deserves.

It's not just the National Weather Service that's bleeding. In the name of efficiency, The White House has slashed budgets at the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and more. Trimming the federal budget sounds well and good until you realize that we won't be making any major cancer breakthroughs any time soon without funding the research. And we won't be able to protect people from hurricanes and tornadoes without complete weather data.

(And yes, even the Weather app on your iPhone needs a database to pull from.)

Meanwhile, we're spending $1 trillion—yes, trillion— per year on our military. This is the anti-science, anti-expert sentiment Morales is talking about. It's been building for years and is just now coming to a head in the worst way.

We still need meteorologists and weather experts like Morales. We still need scientists.

weatherman, weather, meteorologist, news, tv news, news anchor, viral videos, trump, doge, governmentWe still need human scientists and experts that can compile and read maps like this one. Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash

ChatGPT can pull weather data from Google and tell you if there's going to be a thunderstorm, but can it tell you when the data behind that forecast is incomplete or unreliable? That's the reality we're facing right now, and we might not know the forecast isn't reliable until it's too late in some cases.

TV weathermen who live in our communities and can put crucial context behind the weather and help keep us safe still matter. Not only that, but they are ambassadors for science, and they still have a big platform in many communities around the country. Morales is making sure he makes the most of his.

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Server accepts huge tip from a 'creepy' man, making her coworker angry. Was she right?

"Don’t spill your business to others. Your money is your money."

via Canva/Photos

A customer and a server at a restaurant.

A 27-year-old female server disagreed with a coworker over whether she should accept a large tip from a customer who flirted with her. This raised a good question: If someone wants to give you a large tip, should the reason why matter? Even if it’s because the man thought she was “pretty”?

After all, if a man is throwing around his money, he has to have some hope that she’ll be impressed enough to go out with him or that she’d be willing to make another financial arrangement. But in the same scenario, he also runs the considerable risk that the woman will pocket the cash and have nothing to do with him, which is what she did.

The woman shared her story on Reddit to see if commenters thought she was in the wrong for accepting the large tip. “I (27f) am a waitress. Friday night, I served this table. It was a middle-aged woman and a very handsome middle-aged man. A guy I would have gone out with if he wasn't so creepy. He had made sure to mention that the woman he was dining with was his sister. After the meal, he gave me a $500 (US dollar) tip,” the woman wrote.

tip, bill, restaurant, server, waitress, bill, gratuityA credit card and a bill.via Canva/Photos

“The tip was almost twice the price of the meal,” she continued. “He told me the tip was because I was so pretty. After work, I told a fellow waitress (32f), and she was angry. She told me it was a stupid decision to accept that. She said I made it seem like behavior like that is acceptable by accepting it. I probably would never accept a tip like that under those circumstances again. Am I [in the wrong]?”

The good news for the server was that the commenters overwhelmingly supported her decision, but with a caveat. She should take this opportunity to learn that, in the future, she should be quiet about the money she makes at work, especially when talking to her coworkers.

“It’s not like you asked for the big tip or agreed to do anything for it. If he’s wealthy and wants to leave a big tip, all the better for you. You did nothing wrong here,” the most popular commenter wrote. Other commenters felt that the coworker was simply jealous.

server, waitress, restaurant, tip, service, smile, brunette womanA smiling server.via Canva/Photos

“As a former server, [you’re not wrong]. This was never about her principles; it was about her being upset you got a huge tip and she didn't. Your fellow servers care about their money, so you don't need to tell them about yours. Bragging about your huge tips is a good way to make enemies or get robbed after work when one of the shady ones sends a text to their friend or partner and has them waiting by your car outside," the commenter wrote. "Never talk about how much you made in tips. No one needs that information but you, the IRS, and your boss. I guarantee she would have kept the tip herself if she had been the one serving him.”

When talking about tips at work, many commentators said keep it to yourself because you’re only going to make people jealous, and in the worst-case scenario, jealous coworkers could put you in grave danger. “Don’t spill your business to others. Your money is your money,” a commenter wrote.

woman, laptop at night, popcorn, woman smiling laptop, late night snack, A woman eating popcorn while looking at her laptop.via Canva/Photos

Ultimately, most people are okay with the server accepting the large tip because nothing was attached to it. She was free to pursue a relationship with the man and chose not to, which was smart because he seemed like a creep. For the rest of us, the story is also a great reminder to keep your business to yourself. There isn’t much to gain from discussing your money with coworkers.

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Oprah Winfrey gets pranked by Cynthia Erivo at the Tony's with one of her own iconic bits

She was told to check under her seat.

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"I've been waiting all night to do this."

Even folks who have never watched Oprah are aware of the truly epic giveaways made on her show. Aside from Tom Cruise jumping on the couch, it was pretty much the show’s most unforgettable bit. Audience members never knew what potential treasures they might walk away with.

Of course, there’s one giveaway that happened 25 years ago that outweighed them all—when all 276 audience members received brand-new Pontiac G-6 cars that reportedly retailed for $28,500 during her “Wildest Dreams Come True” season.

The moment was not only unforgettable because of the whopping retail value, but for Oprah’s iconic delivery “You get a car! You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!” which as we know continues to live on, thanks to Internet memes.

Oprah, meme, Internet, Oprah show, gifEverybody gets a car!media3.giphy.com

For the 2025 Tony Awards, host Cynthia Erivo decided to give Winfrey a taste of her own wholesome medicine.

"Miss Oprah, as a change of pace I thought we should give you a gift," she told Winfrey. "Check under your chair."

Lo and behold, the longtime host found a bag filled with goodies like Thin Mints and gummy bears. And still, there was one more thing awaiting.

"What's the other thing? What's that other thing in there?" Erivo prompted.

Winfrey then pulled out a tiny red toy car, followed by Erivo quipping "You get a car. I’ve been waiting all night to do that.”

Down in the comments, people were utterly amused, even those who wouldn’t describe themselves as Oprah fans.

"Cute play on her talk show’s most famous gift to guests,” one person wrote.

"Cynthia told Oprah to look under her chair and gave her a car where is her emmy," joked another.

Others simply dubbed it a “slick” and “legendary” move.



Though this is certainly the most well known of the Oprah giveaways, other episodes have featured trips to Disney World, shopping sprees, new homes, refrigerators, TV sets, luxury duffel bags…just to name a few.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Interestingly enough, Erivo and Winfrey share a previous Tony connection. Winfrey, who played Sofia in the 1985 film version of The Color Purple, would later produce the revival of The Color Purple musical where Erivo made her Broadway debut as Celie, which earned her the “Best Actress in a Musical” award.

As far as what Winfrey was thinking of her immortal car giveaway, in a 2011 video posted to her OWN Network, she described it as “one of my all time favorite happiest moments ever.”

She also defended her enthusiasm behind saying “You get a car!” multiple times, saying it was because she feared people would think it was a joke. Honestly, understandable.

And while we might remember the giveaways best of all, Oprah was also one of the first talk shows to move away from tabloid talk to encourage confessional conversation where people could open up about their deepest struggles, from addiction to childhood trauma, and (hopefully) find healing. This played a pivotal role in elevating self-help culture and creating societal change.

But yeah, the car moment is timeless.

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