jbaldy, I never knew he ran it past his rabbonim, I just heard that someone said they thought he did. And I don’t have a problem with it if he indeed did so. But I still would not take those risks with my kids, and I disagree that this derech has brought risks. I will say, however, that I had no intention of implying this was a hashkofa I expect others to follow, it is just my mehalach. I only brought it out because I felt others were saying there were NO risks. If you tell me you are giving underaged kids booze, I will say you are doing wrong, in this specific situation I feel it is not healthy, but I also feel it is your choice. I don’t know if that makes sense or not, it is easier to explain IRL when you can see it in context.
as an aside, I wasn’t responding to a letter by rabbonim, I haven’t read it and didn’t even know about it. I have always made a habit of looking into the stuff that comes into my kids brains (when it is my choice), just being jewish doesn’t mean it’s okay, and being “secular” doesn’t rule it out.