Thread: Legal Age

Originally Posted by CarrieM

When I was growing up the drinking age was still at 18, I was introduced to alcohol at around 14, My mom always said, if you're going to drink, I would rather you drink at home, so it was no big thing to have a glass of wine or a beer once in a while. Having parental consent also too the "rebelliousness" out of it too as you can't really be cool sneaking around the parents back when there the ones letting you have it. It also taught responsible drinking habits. Not to say we didn't tie one on occasionally, but we got absolutely no sympathy the next day and were actually expected to do more. More of a tough love thing now that I look back at it, but I just thought they did it to torture us at the time.

CarrieM, that's a great common sense approach to this dilemma IMHO, and one that not only reflects the European model but sounds a bit like my upbringing too. Alcohol education goes a long ways towards responsible drinking habits as an adult, much more so than laws.