Should the drinking age be abolished? Should parents be able to let their kids drink?

[ShyGuyInChicago]

I had a discussion on another forum about lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18. One person said that if parents could allow their kids to drink they could teach them to drink responsibly and it could eliminate the appeal that drinking has because then it would no longer be considered illegitmate.

I'm the same - I don't see any harm in underage drinking. I do see a problem with "underage getting trashed" (actually any-age getting trashed).

I don't feel that the government needs to involve itself in these matters - it should be up to the parents. That's how I was raised - one of the earliest memories I have is when I was a small child in England. Dad would come home from work and pour himself a beer and sit there and drink it before dinner. I was always allowed to slurp the froth off the top. OK so that's not really "drinking" I guess, but it was still fun

As a kid, I was sometimes allowed to have a sip of dad's beer etc and from the age of about 12 or so I was allowed to have a very small glass of wine or beer at special events - family birthdays, Christmas, etc.

From my mid-teens I was allowed to drink alcohol at home under the supervision of my parents. So at a family barbecue in the back yard, I might be allowed to have one, possibly two beers and that's all.

My parents believed that by removing the illicit appeal of drinking alcohol, and just making it a normal part of life, then I'd be less likely to go stupid with it. And for the most part, it's been true. Yes, I've had the odd occasion where I've drunk too much and paid the penalty later that night or the next day. But to this day I drink alcohol for the taste and for the enjoyment. I don't drink to get drunk. Even at the ages of 15/16/17, I'd go to parties and drink alcohol but generally not get trashed like a lot of the others.

I'm also a big believer in correcting people's misconceptions that the term "drinking" is the same as "getting drunk". I don't believe it is. I believe that teenage drinking should be fine. Teenage drunkenness isn't.

What do you think of that? Would you allow your kids to drink under your supervision? Personally, I wouldn't because the younger one is the more likely alcohol can cause damage to my understanding.

[Daniel_]

I think 21 is just right. Perfect. Not to old, not to young.

[DarkHorses]

I wouldn't let my kid drink at that age. People who start drinking at the age of fifteen are four times more likely to become dependent on alcohol than those who waited until they were twenty one. Teenagers who drink are also more likely to try illicit drugs.

I honestly don't see a problem with a parent letting their teenager have a few sips or a glass of alcohol, but I don't agree with making it legal for teenagers to drink under parent supervision. Some parents aren't responsible, and their kids will get carried away and drink far more than they should be. I can easily see a drunk parent letting their teenager get away with drinking tons of alcohol. Chances are if the teenager is drinking then the adult is to, and that parent isn't supervising if they are drunk.

It just doesn't seem like a good idea to me. There's nothing wrong with the drinking age as it is.

[nick]

21 is very old for this limit, its 18 in the UK or 16 for you to be able to have wine with a meal in a restaurant. But those limits in the UK only apply to the sale of alchohol, not to who is allowed to consume it in the home. Its quite common for parents to let teenagers have the odd beer or glass of wine at home and I see no harm in that. In many parts of Europe it would be normal for kids to have a small amount of wine with a meal from younger ages.

[Kaius]

To be honest, what I find is that most teenagers drink because they're not legally allowed to. Its like telling someone not to do something, they'll want to do it more. If its seen as an adult thing they're not allowed to do they'll most likely want to do it more. It can be taken two ways though, if it was lowered the fascination of it might disappear, but it can also lead to more abuse of it. It depends on the person drinking really, and the reason they're actually drinking in the first place. Whether its for rebellion, to block things out or to look 'cool' and 'mature', alcohol is always going to be an issue.

[Sage]

I've been drinking since I was four and I was always under the impression that under-aged drinking is entirely legal in the presence of parents.

[Rutherford The Brave]

Honestly, drinking to me isn't the issue. If one person wishes to ruin their body then why stop them? My issue is the choices they make once they are under the influence. You can't really blame the drug, you choose to consume it so when you fuck up its your fault.

[steve1234]

I does make me laugh how you are not allowed to smoke in public buildings anymore, and there are so many warnings about it, every packet says that smoking will kill (thats the case in the UK), yet you can buy alcohol incredibly cheaply, and its fairly easy for underage people to get hold of it, there are no warnings on the bottles, and alcohol is very dangerous when you get drunk (you can do so many stupid things, such as falling in a river, falling in front of a bus, get taken advantage of, and so many things), yet smoking doesn't put people at risk (apart from health of course).

A bit off track there, I know. I was sometimes allowed a few sips of beer/wine as I became a teenager, so that I could be introduced to it slowly. I think this worked a bit, because as I have grown older, I rarely drink alcohol, and I have never got drunk, and I stay away from it. If my parents told me not to ever touch it, then I might have been rebellious and done stupid things. I don't know.

Personally, I'm not sure getting rid of legal ages will make a difference, although they still should be kept. If it was legal, teens might be less keen to 'rebel', but it might also allow them to just go crazy and get pissed all the time. In the UK, I definatly think they should put alcohol prices up (you can get beer in Tesco for like 20p, which is stupid), put warnings on the bottles, keep the legal ages and enforce it further. If teenagers can still get hold of alcohol, then it will be their fault if they do something stupid or get liver problems and have a shorter life expectancy.

[Sith Lord 13]

I wouldn't let my kid drink at that age. People who start drinking at the age of fifteen are four times more likely to become dependent on alcohol than those who waited until they were twenty one. Teenagers who drink are also more likely to try illicit drug

Where are these statistics from? I'm willing to bet it's from a country where teenagers aren't allowed to drink. America has a rather high drinking age and yet, at the same time, has higher rates of alcoholism than most if not all of Europe. It's because of the drinking age that that is happening.

[Amnesiac]

I wouldn't trust abolishing the drinking age altogether, there are plenty of irresponsible parents who would fail to teach their children about it. It's not the same as the age of consent, before anyone questions me on it, because of birth control. There's no equivalent in the drinking world.

I would be in support of it being lowered though. Teenagers have a habit of doing things they know they aren't allowed to.

[Fruit_Tart.]

i think it should be lowered somewhat. maybe if it was lowered some but only allowed with the supervision of a parent/guardian. or maybe it would be better for it to be illegal for the "younger" because people abuse it. i dunno. honestly, a drink doesn't really hurt anyone unless it is abused.

[danielf123]

yeaahhhhh no
just fucking no

[Azunite]

Alcohol is the worst thing after smoke, it doesn't have anything good in it and it damages your brain, makes you drunk and it is a sin in Islam ( well ıt was also a sin in Christianity too, until Roman Empire embraced it ).
Once, I secretly drank my dad's beer when I was around 7 and I couldn't stand up from my bed for 2 days.
Agreed with steve guy, alcohol should have warnings on them, they are as dangerous as cigars.
But underage laws doesn't stop anyone. I can see babies of gypsies in Turkey who smoke!

[Magus]

Ah! shall we reminisce together. (http://www.virtualteen.org/forums/showthread.php?t=74177)

[Resistance]

i'm portuguese and in portugal the drinking age is 16. i think that it should be at 18 like the other things in portugal. but the main problem is that you see kids dirinking before they have 16 and they drink only to be cool next to friends

[Jess]

I don't want my kids drinking at all before 18. However if they do want to when they're 18, as long as they're responsible and not drinking so much, I would let them

[Azunite]

Until the brain and the body reaches adultness ( which i think even 18 is not enough ) people shouldn't drink.
And if they want, just a glass per day ;)

[Errr]

its called better parenting, my kid is not even TRYING to drink until they are 16 and that better be with family & safe. and only a sip. My whole childhood was shatterend because of drunks, yeah lets take of the drinking age so we can raise drunks quicker now. No 21 is the limit and I agree 900%

[thepieman]

It's a very interesting subject this.

I spent a week in Belgium in July, and found out you have to be 16 to drink beer and wine, or 21 to drink spirits. It seemed to work, I didn't see any teenagers getting completely drunk whilst being there, so the approach worked well.

In contrast, in the UK with the age limit to purchase all alcoholic drinks at age 18, underage drinking is a big issue. It seems that the harsher the rules, the more people want to try and break them.

I think it's down, as Errr suggested, to good parenting. People need to know that drinking alcohol in moderation is fine, and there would be a less significant problem with alcohol.

[INFERNO]

I think it should be set at 18 because at that age, you can begin to vote, possibly smoke, get into night clubs, serve in the army, etc... . I think you should also be able to drink. The problem though is that this law is hard to enforce and people see other underage people drinking, so they do too either because it's defying society or because they see so few get arrested there's little danger. The most likely danger is a shitty hang-over and angry parents.

I think the focus should be not really on whether the age is 16, 18 or 21 but rather the focus should be on enforcing the law because that's a reason why so many do it. If it can be enforced much more, people will still do it because they're defying the law but I'm sure others would be more hesitant.

Some places, such as Germany has 2 legal drinking ages: 16 years old for beer and 18-21 for harder stuff. Beer can be bought in grocery stores while the harder stuff is bought in alcohol stores. Many people drink beer as it's legal, which is meant to defuse underage drinking of harder stuff but that doesn't really work.

I think parents can let their kids drink a bit providing the kid isn't very young. My parents would do this as during dinner, sometimes they'd offer me half a can or beer, no more. Later, they're open to offering me wine, brandy, vodka, champagne, beer and such from the liquor cabinets.