Underage drinking and minimum age laws

[Kacey]

Two of my underaged cousins (one is 19, and the other is 17) were drinking beer at my dad's 60th birthday party - in full view of their parents. Their dad even helped them open beer bottles. I teased them relentlessly for drinking beer in front of their parents. Looking back at their drinking, I don't think it was a bad thing. Both of their parents are college-educated working adults. As far as I know, they don't drink excessively in front of their kids.

My parents were different in that regard. They never drank in front of my brothers and I, period (they were never really much into drinking, anyway). Underaged drinking wasn't something they overly lectured us about, since we were all pretty "clean cut" kids. I didn't start drinking *socially* until I turned 21, and I don't think my brothers did either.

I also think that providing an example of responsible drinking behavior is effective. After all, parents *are* the greatest influence in their children's lives...much more than the children would like to admit.

I would tend to agree. When I was in college, several studies were discussed in which the drinking rates of several countries and cultures were compared. Cultures in which responsible drinking was a part of the culture have lower rates of alcoholism, because children learn - as children - to drink moderately and responsibly, by watching their parents do the same - many European countries, for example, assume a moderate amount of alcohol (a glass of wine with a meal, for example) to be normal, as do some religions (Judaism has rituals which require drinking "the fruit of the vine", but any combination of wine and grape juice - including either alone - is acceptable). In constrast, many cultures ban drinking entirely, so that children don't learn to drink responsibly; people who have a drink tend to continue on to get drunk; having violated the cultural/religious taboo of drinking the first place, they drink until falling down drunk. Family stress levels and stability also tend to affect rates of alcoholism (see first article); high stress, low income, and poor stability tend to lead to more alcoholism, as parents drink to escape their troubles, and children and teens drink in imitation of their parents.

 

[Drac]

Many police depts. do underage stings at liquor stores and bars and its amazing how many clerks actually serve them even after they show the ID stating that they're underage

100% true...It's a REAL PAIN for all LEO's....

 

[donna]

Here in Australia the driving age is 17 and the drinking age is 18. We have all sorts of problems with binge drinking with kids as young as 12 and 13. Our young drivers are killing themselves at an alarming rate even though our driving laws and probationary driver rules are getting tougher and tougher.
I really dont think having a legal drinking age is making that much difference as most people seem to flout the law. The mentality is such that some parents even provide alchol for teen parties, some as young as 14 and 15, and seem to encourage binge drinking. I think our society is getting dumber by the day!! It is getting to the stage that if you dont drink you are considered weird , and especially for a male who dosnt drink , your masculinity is called into question. It is totally ridiculous!!

 

[Swordlady]

Just some stats to chew on, courtesy of the SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving) website: http://www.sadd.org/stats.htm

 

[Don Roley]

The drinking age in the U.S. is currently 21. It is 18 in Canada and in the U.K.

Do you think setting a minimum age for drinking is effective or necessary, especially considering the prevalence of underage drinking? If you do not feel these laws are necessary, at what age do you think children should be taught how to drink *responsibly*?

I think teaching kids to drink responsibly is seperate from the age they can buy alchohol. It would be nice if it was legal for parents to let their kids at a certain age to drink in their home so they can monitor and teach kids to drink. But I think that going out and buying beer on their own is seperate from that.

In fact, I think that a lot of the ages we have should be made just one age. Which kills more people in the US, pistols or cars? I think it is cars but guess which you can use at age 16 and which you can use at 21? You are responsible enough to make the choice to join the military and use weapons and be prosecuted as an adult at 18, but until you hit 21 you are not responsible enough to order a beer?