Legal drinking age

[hawkeye3210]

It's not illegal to allow your child to drink at home in America, is it? 

Yes, it actually is against the law.  It's just that nobody monitors what you do in your own home.  If any law enforcement authority could ever find proof that you were providing alcohol to an underage minor, you would have some serious legal, or actually criminal problems to deal with.  

It's actually not against the law in most states.

[ben50]

Shouldn't be drinking at all.

[laine39]

I agree, kids shouldn't be drinking at all. I don't think the legal drinking age should be under 21 either. I was happy when it was raised. There are so many irresponsible drinkers of all ages on the roads now, and to many kids partying.

[raven1114]

It's not illegal to allow your child to drink at home in America, is it? 

Yes, it actually is against the law.  It's just that nobody monitors what you do in your own home.  If any law enforcement authority could ever find proof that you were providing alcohol to an underage minor, you would have some serious legal, or actually criminal problems to deal with.  

Wrong. There are only about 10 states where it is illegal. Inb my state I or my husband can give our kids alcohol if we want to and there isn't a damn thing any law enforcement can do about it. As long as we aren't getting them *bleep* faced drunk and endangering their health or safety it is perfectly legal.

[alaric99x]

OK, I concede the point.  In every country in Europe the government makes the laws for the entire country.  I had to explain to my wife that in the "United States," the individual states have most of the rights to make their own laws, a concept most Europeans have trouble understanding.  I guess I forgot that myself in this case.

[elandry]

I have nothing against setting everything at 21-- but when it comes to military service, I think if an 18 year old wanted to sign up, then they should be able to. But then again, my boys were born with the military gene-- they both went Army at 18, and I couldn't have stopped them even if I had been inclined to. Alcohol is a dicey thing-- after all, smoking while driving rarely kills anyone, and going in the Army only gets your own behind shot off potentially-- not an innocent person's. I am less than zero tolerance on DUI offenders, whether the cause is drugs or alcohol.

My kids grew up in an alcohol free house. Both of them had their first drinks at 21-- luckily, neither of them has developed a taste for it. I have seen too many drunks on both sides of my family, not to mention a lot of other people I have known. I'll take a smoker over a drinker any day. Not a fanatic about it, but just don't like to deal with drunk people-- most of them are a pain in the tail.

[shepherdchik]

i think that the way they raise their kids in other countries and the atmosphere and culture have a lot to do with why the drinking age would be lower in those countries. I think they teach more responsibility and the way they enjoy it is totally different than the way we think about it here. it's an escape and a way to cope with things here and just makes things worse for a lot of people and in those countries they enjoy it with dinner and don't go crazy like we do, it's a part of their everyday lives and they savor it. Here everyone wants to get drunk and act stupid. I really dislike people here and the lack of values we all have

[dkanofsky]

The legal drinking age should stay at 21.  Many adults have enough problems holding their liquor, lets not make it worse.

[monnee]

I believe that since the legal drinking age is 21 then then age for someone to sign up to serve this country and be willing to die for this country should be 21.
 If someone is old enough to signup to serve this country then he/she should be old enough to legally drink.

I agree.

[devideddi]

its 21 here

[lynnc35]

Drinking age never matters anyway, not unless they start enforcing people who buy for underage kids. I was able to get a hold of alcohol at a very young age and it messed up my life.

[alaric99x]

i think that the way they raise their kids in other countries and the atmosphere and culture have a lot to do with why the drinking age would be lower in those countries. I think they teach more responsibility and the way they enjoy it is totally different than the way we think about it here. it's an escape and a way to cope with things here and just makes things worse for a lot of people and in those countries they enjoy it with dinner and don't go crazy like we do, it's a part of their everyday lives and they savor it. Here everyone wants to get drunk and act stupid. I really dislike people here and the lack of values we all have

I would have agreed with you 20 years ago, but that's not really the case anymore.  It depends on the country. Kids in England drink a lot, so do kids in Germany, but drugs for kids in Germany are much more interesting, as they are for kids in Holland where marijuana and hashish are legal.  Go to Amsterdam and, if you're not wearing a suit, you'll be offered extasie and cocaine on every street in the pedestrian zones. Incidentally, the marihauna cultivators have done a very good job in Holland, marihuana there is much more potent than the hashish, how do I know this?  Don't ask, don't tell.

[alaric99x]

Just to add to this comment, when I was managing the bowling center in Koblenz, Germany, the teachers who brought the school groups from England almost always asked me to tell my waitresses not to serve Red Bull or any energy drinks to their kids, of course, I complied with that and gave appropriate instructions to my waitresses, no reason having the kids high on Red Bull and bouncing off the walls, keeping their teachers awake at the local hotel where they would be staying.  There was, however, no problem if the kids had a few beers, British kids were almost never interested in our local wines, but they really seemed to enjoy the local beers.

[monkmano]

In canada the legal drinking age is 18 in most states but a few have a legal drinking age of 19
why isnt it the same for the whole country? and isnt it country-wide in most other countries this is what ive seen thus far 

[jenniferhoder]

People today are so immature. If you lower the drinking age, there will only be MORE irresponsible people.
Look at all the DUI's out there...
I think that 21 is a good age.