Underage drinking

Is the behavior the problem?

Is it the laws that are the problem?

Is it the lack of safe guards in place for all ages, but particularly the underage?

Your opinion if you care to share.

Alcohol's bad for the still-developing adolescent brain, as well as other organ systems.  That's why I think underage drinking should be discouraged.  Otherwise I pretty much disregard drinking laws (except those that prohibit drinking and driving - make those stricter, actually).

edited for a little clarity

i think the drinking age should be 18+. old enough to serve our country, considered a legal adult, old enough for a beer IMO.

it seems to work for pretty much every other country in the world.

Personally I could easily go with checking your keys with the first drink you order and not getting them back until you've passed a breathalyzer (sp?), it wouldn't hurt me to walk or take a taxi home from a bar...of course I don't go out drinking all that often so it's not a big deal to me.

I didn't do a whole lot of underage drinking myself, what I did do I thought was legal although in retrospect it might not have been.  My parents would occasionally serve a glass of wine at home.  My bf when I was 18 was over 21, we wouldn't go out drinking but would drink in sometimes.

I think much of the problem stems from the complete lack of introduction to alcohol.  Kids (under 21) are forbidden to drink anything and don't know what happens or how to act when they get a bit tipsy.  Then they get drunk and for some reason it's an acceptable excuse to be too drunk to know better.  Instead of owning up to their actions and saying hey, I want to do this (or in some cases him/her), it's oh, I was drunk.

Your conclusion about unfamiliarity with alcohol seems logical, Sara, given what I've noticed about the way alcohol is treated in other countries.  Italy, for example.  People there frequently grow up with alcohol as a part of family meals or traditions, so it's neither demonized nor glorified; people treat it as a part of everyday life rather than something to be binged upon or abstained from totally.

I think that a lack of education about the proper way to drink alcohol is the problem.  Our current drinking laws exacerbate the problem as does the current attitudes towards alcohol on college campuses.  I think that having a minimum drinking age is not necessary and that young adults should be taught how to properly consume alcohol with a meal in the home by their parents.  The party image of beer/alcohol with sports, etc. should disappear because it is inappropriate.  The problem with making this change is that there are very few properly educated adults in the USA because we were all raised with the current laws/attitudes towards alcohol.  I think the solution is to phase out drinking age requirements over time.

Kids are going to drink, regardless of the law. When they do, and get into trouble (eg. alcohol poisoning), they or their friends are less likely to get help because they are more afraid of the legal ramifications than the physical ones.

When I was over 21 I still didn't go out drinking very often...the whole transportation thing was always an issue, plus the idea of drunk people in bars didn't appeal.  I completely agree with laws about driving while intoxicated. 

I also worked in a maintenance department and knew that I ever showed up for work with a hangover that my coworkers who were all about twice my age would have way too much fun at my expense (lots of tools to make one miserable with sheer noise).  When you know that there will be deserved consequences you tend to evaluate whether or not they're worth the original actions.

I think the drinking law should stay 21+, if it had been 18+ all along...then I would say keep it that way as well. I think there's already too much hype about it to change it. I'm trying to think of how to word it correctly....but am having trouble. I feel like because we have strict laws on it and kind of made it a taboo subject, if the drinking age is lowered people might get excessive with it.

Right now with the drinking age being 21+, it's very easy for 18 year olds to get a hold of it. Where I'm from a lot of the bars will even serve you. If the drinking age is 18+, it will be even easier for 16 year olds to get a hold of it, and that worries me a bit.

Original Post by jblarghp:

I think the drinking law should stay 21+, if it had been 18+ all along...then I would say keep it that way as well. I think there's already too much hype about it to change it. I'm trying to think of how to word it correctly....but am having trouble. I feel like because we have strict laws on it and kind of made it a taboo subject, if the drinking age is lowered people might get excessive with it.

Right now with the drinking age being 21+, it's very easy for 18 year olds to get a hold of it. Where I'm from a lot of the bars will even serve you. If the drinking age is 18+, it will be even easier for 16 year olds to get a hold of it, and that worries me a bit.

Why?  If there were no laws then everybody could get it and no one would want it.

Original Post by jblarghp:

I think the drinking law should stay 21+, if it had been 18+ all along...then I would say keep it that way as well. I think there's already too much hype about it to change it. I'm trying to think of how to word it correctly....but am having trouble. I feel like because we have strict laws on it and kind of made it a taboo subject, if the drinking age is lowered people might get excessive with it.

Right now with the drinking age being 21+, it's very easy for 18 year olds to get a hold of it. Where I'm from a lot of the bars will even serve you. If the drinking age is 18+, it will be even easier for 16 year olds to get a hold of it, and that worries me a bit.

Why?  If there were no laws then everybody could get it and no one would want it.

If we started off with no laws I would say keep it that way, because you are right.

...but there's already been laws, the damage has already been done. 

I'm talking about if we changed it now.

I don't know why people think drinking alcohol = getting drunk.  That is the attitude that needs to change and as longs as we have drinking age limits we can't change that attitude.

Original Post by jules817:

i think the drinking age should be 18+. old enough to serve our country, considered a legal adult, old enough for a beer IMO.

it seems to work for pretty much every other country in the world.

 agree 100%!!!!

Original Post by jblarghp:

If we started off with no laws I would say keep it that way, because you are right.

...but there's already been laws, the damage has already been done. 

I'm talking about if we changed it now.

I agree that it is much harder now because years of alcohol laws have left us with a society with inappropriate attitudes toward alcohol but just because it will be hard to make the change doesn't mean we shouldn't do it.  Often doing the right thing is hard.

Original Post by trhawley:

Original Post by jblarghp:

If we started off with no laws I would say keep it that way, because you are right.

...but there's already been laws, the damage has already been done. 

I'm talking about if we changed it now.

I agree that it is much harder now because years of alcohol laws have left us with a society with inappropriate attitudes toward alcohol but just because it will be hard to make the change doesn't mean we shouldn't do it.  Often doing the right thing is hard.

 I think alot of it would come down to irresponsible parenting.  Let me explain.  First of all, my parents were all about the law.  The law said they shouldn't contribute to minors, so I got no alcohol, even in my own home with them at dinner.  They were never really able to teach me how to drink responsibly growing up because they refused to do something that they saw as breaking the law.  Now, if that was not the law, I think they would have been able to better teach me.  However, there are many parents who wouldn't be responsible enough to do this.  So yes, I am worried what would happen if they just completely did away with the law.

Second of all, we are not other countries.  We seem to think differently than many other countries.  Americans are over-indulgers.  We over spend.  We over drink, we over-eat, we over medicate, we buy unneccessary gas guzzling cars, etc.  You name it and we over-do it.  So even though I wish we had the mentality of some other countries, we don't.  I'm just not sure if their rules would work for us....ever.

Original Post by jblarghp:

I think the drinking law should stay 21+, if it had been 18+ all along...then I would say keep it that way as well. I think there's already too much hype about it to change it. I'm trying to think of how to word it correctly....but am having trouble. I feel like because we have strict laws on it and kind of made it a taboo subject, if the drinking age is lowered people might get excessive with it.

Right now with the drinking age being 21+, it's very easy for 18 year olds to get a hold of it. Where I'm from a lot of the bars will even serve you. If the drinking age is 18+, it will be even easier for 16 year olds to get a hold of it, and that worries me a bit.

 Just gonna mention that when my parents were 18, the drinking age was 18 for beer and 21 for liquor.  It's already been changed because so much hype was built up about it.

Edited to add that I think your logic re: 18 year olds getting it and 16 year olds getting it is a little flawed... a) Many 16 year olds in my high school were already drinking - not me, but many were. b) 18 year olds tend to be in contact with 21 year olds more often because they're in college together etc. thus making it easier for an 18 year old to know lots of 21 year olds who can help them get alcohol.  And drinking really is looked at as a rite of passage for college age kids... High schools could keep no tolerance policies for sports teams etc (because being in a sport isn't requirement) so I don't really think it would suddenly become more of an issue among the high schools.

Original Post by jblarghp:

If we started off with no laws I would say keep it that way, because you are right.

...but there's already been laws, the damage has already been done. 

I'm talking about if we changed it now.

hmm i can see your point here.

like, i'm imagining college campuses around the country if the government suddenly said "hey, on january 1st, 2010 the drinking age is 18+!" kids would go bananas and it would be a **** show for a while.

but i think the novelty would wear off relatively soon. i wonder if the long term good would outweigh the initial bad. i think it would.

I think you'd have a ton of drinking parties everywhere on Jan 1, 2010, but honestly, I couldn't see it being any worse than Halloween any year, or New Years...

Not everyone who's been laying off of alcohol is suddenly going to become a drunk...  I also think that within the first year the novelty would wear off.  That's about when most of my friends stopped getting really excited to go hit the bars. (Not that we don't still like going out, I just mean that's when it stopped being a big deal)

Original Post by jules817:

like, i'm imagining college campuses around the country if the government suddenly said "hey, on january 1st, 2010 the drinking age is 18+!" kids would go bananas and it would be a **** show for a while.

 Kids would go just as bananas as they do now, they'd just be doing it in bars instead of dorms/frat houses, which would stimulate the local economy.

I started drinking w/ my mom at home when I was in junior high (don't recommend this!). The legal drinking age was 18.

#1 I think that the legal age should be 18-- if a person is adult enough to vote, serve in the military, or get married, they should be old enough to drink.

#2 I think that kids should be exposed to alcohol (granted my mom went to the extreme) or they will "go crazy" when they get the chance.

My kids were allowed a glass of wine or champagne for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc. They were "sherry" glasses, so only about 1.5 ounces about 6 times a year. When they were in their last year or so of high school, they could have a bit more.

Results: My daughter drank VERY responsibly in college (except her 21st b-day when her friends got her REALLY drunk and she swore NEVER again). My son did pretty well until he got around my ex-husband who "taught him" how to drink scotch. They both graduated college in 4 years and have solid employment and aren't big drinkers. I guess it worked for us.