What do you think about children being able to drink alcohol?!


Question:

What do you think about children being able to drink alcohol?

Although it's the law that people under the age of 18 cannot drink alchohol maybe this law is too firm. Although there is the physical point to make, some adults arent that matured at 18. Also adults do abuse the rules set, lastly what is the problem with teenagers having a small glass of wine with a meal?

What are your views on this?


Answers:
In the US, the law is 21, not 18. Personally, like many laws, I think there are pros and cons. As the mother of a 17 year old girl, who is exceptionally mature and responsible, I don't have a problem with her having a glass of wine at home with dinner. It seems these days the trend is towards zero tolerance and not allowing your children to have any alcohol in your presence as the "experts" say that this is condoning alcohol use. The problem is that teenagers will be teenagers, and will drink, and knowing what the effects will be by sampling alcohol at home seems much safer to me than experimenting with friends out in a field somewhere. On the other hand, there are many children who are not as mature and responsible as mine, who might become inebriated and not have the maturity level to make appropriate decisions about driving, sex, or drug use. So it is an issue- should the government be able to dictate this law? I think they have to in order to prvide at least guidelines. Will people ever follow this law? No.

Rules are rules. Its not actually 2 do with if ur mature enough 4 a drink but its the fact that alchohol can seriously damage ur insides so why start affecting an under 18's body with alcohol wen they will more than likely start drinking at 18 anyway.

NO . NO . NO. NO. NO. X 96523478502659 !

Children should not be allowed to drink any alcohol. They should have laws where they cannot use certain medicines that are alcohol based.

In raising my kids I found that the more you yelled and hollered about something the more of a mystery it became and the more tempting. On a weekend if we were playing Risk or Cards I would let the boys have a glass of beer or wine--not their favorite thing, they would rather have a Mt Dew or a Pepsi. Your call. My brother let his kids have wine with meals, he was stationed in Europe for 8 years, common there.

I actually believe (after living over seas) that part of our problem with alchohol stems from former American temprance laws (laws which actually make us a little skitish around liquor and takes away a parent's decision making rights due to understood cultural taboos reinforced by the laws). Now we have such strict rules and taboos around liquor that few of us ever know how to handle it once we are old enough to drink.

I have witnessed that many people under the age of 21 from other countries are much better equipt to deal with liquor in all its forms because they are introduced to it earlier. A little liquor will not harm a person, and most parents are not going to give their children a glass of scotch in the first place. But I have seen many people from other countries offer a little wine mixed with water to their children or even a quarter of a glass of beer to their children when dinning. Their children never thought it was strange.

When I was growing up my parents always had wine and other spirits around the house. I was always free to drink when and if I wanted. It was understood and spoken of. I'm 30 and can honestly say that I never got drunk in my teen years. It was only later in college, with friends that were taught to hide thier drinking from parents, that I ever really drank enough to get drunk, and even then I was able to make smarter decissions about my drinking.

Let parents make their own decisions about alchohol and their children. Our children will probably be able to deal with it better when they get older.

Children should not be allowed to drink alcohol until they reach whatever the legal age is they are allowed to drink ie 18 in Australia and 21 in America. Many adults get addicted to alcohol with devastating results with lives ruined by its effects and it can even cause death.

However in some countries like Italy I think they may allow their kids to have a rare sip of alcohol on special occasions. Alcohol should really only be drunk in social occasions as it is a social drink as their is something sad about the lone drinker drowning their sorrows. Wine is addictive and this is why like smoking it needs to be kept out of childrens way. Children are developing and need to be keep away from things that are going to be harmful to their health.

The issue with teenagers having a drink is that your at that age where you like to test the rules. By having a "small" glass of wine with a meal may mean you have an addiction as it only takes a few drinks on a few nights to have an addiction. Plus their is also the tendancy to show off and get drunk which might seem fun as a teenager but your setting yourself on the road to destruction. Please drink with care, partiularly with heavy drinks like cocktails and spirits.
.

That rule is absolutely right. ofcourse some people arent matured at 18 but then how longer can they extend it? about 19-20. do u think the people who havent matured for their age in 18 would suddenly be of their age in 2 years?

about underaged wine drinkers: they are just spoilt prats.

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!

Absolutely against kids drinking.

In the US the drinking age is 21. And there are alot of 21 year olds that aren't mature enough. Some people are never mature enough.

Both of my kids (pre-teens) have tried wine. I believe wine is something consumed with dinner and is not a device to get drunk on...it's something to enjoy with food. They have taken sips of different, very expensive wines that my husband and I have been drinking. My son has liked some, my daughter has not liked any. They do not get their own glass...just a sip to educate them on the different tastes of wine. We believe taking the mystery out of the wine will make them respect it for what it is. In Italy wine is served with dinner to children...there are few drunks in Italy, they respect it.




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