The idea that the legal age for drinking be increased to 21 is receving wide spread support based on a poll that shows 68% in favour at time of posting. Young adults will go behind parents back and try alcohol, be it alone or through peer pressure. By moving the legal age up will not stop underage drinking. How many parents supply their kids with alcohol as 'schoolies' week. At the Gold Coast, a notorious spot for teens celebrating the end of their school years, Hotel/motel rooms get trashed, young people get arrested and property gets damaged. Parents happily supplying beer and spirits in ridiculous amounts.
A prime example is a father who holds a birthday party for his son who had turned 16. Over 700 teenagers arrived at the party, the father later stating he was the only security present. Now how can one man control 700 kids who are affected by alcohol? The same man said to the then mayor, Kevin Byrne, he would do it all again. Neighbours were terrorised, property destroyed. Some parents spend too much time tree hugging and cultivating their green to even acknowledge the seriousness of allowing these kind of things to occur. Raising the legal age for alcohol will not work when adults supply liqour to minors, and think it is acceptable.
6 comments:
I am not sure raising the age limit would work anyway. Kids always like to try out things that are illegal an the would find a way to get hold of alcohol anyway!
Fully agree with these sentiments, Nunyaa. It starts with the parents and the kids follow.
What you have to remember, is there is often a correlation between how early you start to RESPONSIBLY acclimatise teenagers to these things, and how they take to them.
A number of my Uni lecturers who'd lectured in the states commented on how much worse American students were in terms of resonsible behaviour, especially drink related.
Of course, in the UK, the universities themselves have several bars, and in fact, most people of my age group were drinking in pubs at 16, because things were quite lax in those days. It meant that whilst we were throwing up in the streets at 16, by 21, we were responsible drinkers.
In France, it's common to start getting youngsters used to watered wine as young as 7.
Blanket cut off dates aren't particularly healthy, they have to reflect socio-cultural norms.
The fact is, alcohol is so much part of our recreational culture, that every child is going to grow up into an adult who partakes of it.
Best we start to educate them as soon as we can, raher than sday, what till three years you can vote, then find out yourself what being drunk is like, don't you think?
Yes, education on responsible drinking is one thing thats why I dont see raising the age will have any effect, especially against large numbers of drunken teens, when parents are going out buying and supplying the alcohol in an irresponsible manner, only promoting that binge drinking is ok.
I agree. Upping the age limit will make no difference whatsoever. Much better to teach children to appreciate the odd glass or 2 of wine with a meal, as is done here in Italy, than to make it a "forbidden fruit". Having said my piece, I'm off to have a g & t!
Somewhat related post with interesting comments:
http://www.samizdata.net/blog/archives/2008/03/youth_crime_in.html
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