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Just been reading through my birthday thread from a while back and thinking about how it turned into a big discussion about underage drinking after like five posts. Some people said that teens are out drinking from 13/14+ where they live, It seems similar to where I live.

So Dakka whats your views on underage drinking? I would think It would be worse in The USA with college parties etc.

For 18- users out there on Dakka, would you drink if you could?

If you cant but want to, why? Cant get hold of Booze? No place to drink?

Im pretty interested in this so no flame wars, trolling and stupid comments.

Drinking like testing the flavor ,

or drinking like finishing a cup and such?

LunaHound wrote:Drinking like testing the flavor ,

or drinking like finishing a cup and such?

That's about the most innocent thing I've ever heard. Not a drinker, Luna?

Arctik_Firangi wrote:

LunaHound wrote:Drinking like testing the flavor ,

or drinking like finishing a cup and such?

That's about the most innocent thing I've ever heard. Not a drinker, Luna?

Considering its bitter and expensive , only thing good about it imo is the smell . For the similar amount of money spent
i prefer hot chocolate / pearl milk tea .

I Drink in moderation. I know it's bad but really is it that bad I mean in my case atleast. where it's "one glass just to help me sleep" were as most of the teenage population the kids getting faced every weekend?

I have a fair bit of experience with this as I grew up in a pub and ran a student/city centre bar for a year.

Many peoples idea of an underage drinker is of louts hanging arounnd outside off licences, swigging cheap cider and smashing up bus stops. The reality of it is, these are in a small minority. Most trouble caused due to alcohol involves adults. Most underage drinkers are the ones quietly sitting in the corner of the bar with there mates or family trying very hard not to get noticed.

Part of the problem in the UK is that we used to have very strict licencing laws and where as in many european countries it is common to have wine with a meal, in the UK it is not. This created two distinct problems

1/ Unfamiliarity with alcohol, as it was not realy seen in the home it became a taboo, kids would want to try it because it seemed forbidden. They are also unfamiliar with drinking alcohol in moderation, they initialy fail to realise that alcohol is different to other drinks and that depending on what type you have dependes on the amounts you can consume and the effects it has. This leads to kids thinking that the outcome of drinking is getting drunk and therefor everytime they drink alcohol they must do so until they are drunk.

2/ Binge drinking, because all pubs used to shut at 11pm (most still do) people would rush home from work, have dinner, change their clothes and get to the pub for about 8pm, only giving them 3 hours to consume alcohol, which lead to drinking too much too quickly. Most underage drinkers do not have the tolerance or body mass to consume large amounts of alcohol, so they become drunk a lot faster then they realise and this can lead to anti social behavoir.

When I was growing up in the pub alcohol was all around me so it seemed like nothing special, just another thing that people drank. I probably had my first pint when I was 14, I never used to drink too much and certainly wouldn't have dreamed of causing trouble.

Most pubs used to serve underage drinkers, who were just under 18 and to be honest they tend to be very little trouble, more grateful to have somewhere to go and not to be stuck out in the rain.

Many of the Police would turn a blind eye, because they would rather the underagers where somewhere relatively safe, being kept an eye on by the land lord, and not causing grief wandering the streets.

Like anything it's all about moderation and education, if we keep telling kids that alcohol is bad and they shouldn't have it, they will want it all the more. If they are treated in a mature way and introduced to it as children (wine and lemonade at meals) then they are far lesss likely to go crazy when they can get their hands on a 2ltr bottle of White Lightening.

I live in South Africa, and there isnt as strong a police force here. So the rules arent as strongly enforced. At 14 i could go into a liquor store and purchase alcohol, without any sort of identification...
I am 17 now, and since i was about 14 we (peers) started drinking. Currently everyone has fake IDs and we go out to clubs every wekend, and drink, just as if we were old enough...

So in SA, underage drinking isnt even a topic, it's just a way of life...

squilverine wrote:
Like anything it's all about moderation and education, if we keep telling kids that alcohol is bad and they shouldn't have it, they will want it all the more.

Or when a nice choice is presented ( we have lots of bubble tea shops here ) Most people prefer to drink that over alcohol ( even 18+ people )

Squilverine I 100% agree.

Having a beer when you're 14 or 15 isn't that big of a deal. Driving around with a bottle of Whiskey in your mom's car with your buddies at 16 is a big deal. Most kids, and most people, are responsible enough not to over do it consistently. The guys who steal a couple of beers when they are 15 become the guys having a couple of beers while they watch the game. The guys driving around in their mom's car with a bottle of whiskey at 16 end up in jail or having a beer on the bus.

Haha - my 420th post is about getting messed up. Awesome.

Khornholio wrote:Having a beer when you're 14 or 15 isn't that big of a deal. Driving around with a bottle of Whiskey in your mom's car with your buddies at 16 is a big deal. Most kids, and most people, are responsible enough not to over do it consistently. The guys who steal a couple of beers when they are 15 become the guys having a couple of beers while they watch the game. The guys driving around in their mom's car with a bottle of whiskey at 16 end up in jail or having a beer on the bus.

Haha - my 420th post is about getting messed up. Awesome.

I agree kinda, I go out and drink every now and again. So Im kind of in the middle, the guy who goes out joyriding drunk are just idiots even when there not drunk.

My friends and I drank a lot before we were of age, but then we spent our money on booze, so we didn't have any gas money so we had to stay home, so we didn't get into any serious trouble. Not that we didn't try.

I was in a fraternity in college. I may have done some underaged drinking.

Lord-Loss wrote:

Khornholio wrote:Having a beer when you're 14 or 15 isn't that big of a deal. Driving around with a bottle of Whiskey in your mom's car with your buddies at 16 is a big deal. Most kids, and most people, are responsible enough not to over do it consistently. The guys who steal a couple of beers when they are 15 become the guys having a couple of beers while they watch the game. The guys driving around in their mom's car with a bottle of whiskey at 16 end up in jail or having a beer on the bus.

Haha - my 420th post is about getting messed up. Awesome.

I agree kinda, I go out and drink every now and again. So Im kind of in the middle, the guy who goes out joyriding drunk are just idiots even when there not drunk.

They are also generaly speaking the types of idiot who dont need alcohol to do stupid things, it just serves to exagerate thier dumb ass behavoir. When I was growing up there was a lad a bit older who was always in trouble for pinching cars, one time he got chased by the police, and crashed the car into a fence, the others in the car legged it and got away, he didn't. He wasn't injured, just too drunk to get his seat belt off and run for it. luckily no one got hurt, but he was the sort of idiot who would do it sober because he thought it was funny. He is probably either dead or doing time now.

I drink pretty much every night, so long as I don't need to drive anywhere... but then, I'm not underaged. I've always found it sort of funny that Americans have to be 21.

I only drank a few times whilst underaged myself. First proper hangover was at 17 when I destroyed a bottle of vodka in about half an hour and disappeared from the planet. At the time I was working at KFC, and had a shift starting at 0800 the next day. Suffice to say I didn't make it through that shift... the hangover kicked in after I got to work.

Polonius wrote:I was in a fraternity in college.

I'm pretty sure that was on the list of "Statements which Polonius is unlikely to make."

I drank a lot more before I was 21 than I have in the years since.

But I'm not a big drinker, and more than a bit of a beer snob, so it is had for me to find something I truly enjoy.

I was about 15, a group of us used to drink cheap cider and lager near a local quarry. I didn't drink in pubs until I was legal as I was quite young looking for may age (Still am, all my own hair an' teeth ).

I suppose it would be hypocritical of me to be against under-age drinking.

I did alot of underage drinking. I feel that the drinking age should be reduced from 21 to 18 here stateside.
I also feel strongly that being under 18 and trying to find a way to get some alcohol is a rite of passage, I know I look back on those times fondly.

As a teenager (14+)my friends and I did alot of drinking,but it was always a sort of secondary thing,going to shows and meeting girls was always primary.
It's funny becuase we never had a problem getting booze,of course in New Orleans,back in the 80's,especialy concerning a bunch of kids in spikey leather jackets with mohawks,nobody cared what we did.
No as an "adult" I don't knock 'em back as much,a few drinks after work,maybe tying one on every other week end.
As far as underage drinking,it's like most "teen taboos",people may "be shocked and appauled",but it's not going to ever stop,one can only hope that most of these kids will make it through their "rights of pasage".

I feel that if it's done in moderation, and under supervision, there is nothing wrong with it.
But then again, I'm underage. I don't drink that often, as my parents are home alot and would kill me if they even thought I was thinking about taking a sip of wine.
But when their not home, I will. No more then two Mike's hard or a glass of wine. It really helps me get to sleep if I'm having trouble too.

And the reaction people have when they find out I drink. Priceless.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Lord-Loss wrote:For 18- users out there on Dakka, would you drink if you could?

If you cant but want to, why? Cant get hold of Booze? No place to drink?

Yes.
Because I find I mellow out a lot and get to sleep alot easier.

Just don't do it anywhere around me when you're in a car, or working, and it's fine.

Don't tell the students I said that.

dogma wrote:

Polonius wrote:I was in a fraternity in college.

I'm pretty sure that was on the list of "Statements which Polonius is unlikely to make."

Well, it was more "Revenge of the Nerds" than "animal House." We had a dedicated warhammer table in the basement for about two years. Not that we didn't have fun...

Too bad you can't drink while your at war... sucks to be you.

Outside cultures which ban alcohol it is a part of life and children need to learn how to deal with it the same way they need general social and streetwise skills.

There are safety aspects (health, drinking and not driving, etc) and sensible use of alcohol is a pleasurable part of life. IMO it is best to let youngsters develop these skills gradually, rather than ban them from alcohol and then let them go off the deep end when they reach legal drinking age.

As a parent, I will let my daughter try a sip of wine or beer even now, when she is only 10. She doesn't drink it but she likes the smell of wine. Like most children, she doesn't like the taste.

From 14, it is okay to take a small glass to get used to the effect of alcohol. Then from 18 (legal public drinking age in the UK) I hope she will have developed sense to drink responsibly.

Right, that's THAT sorted, then.


Pub?

I was allowed alcoholic drinks (well, one) on special occasions in my parents' company from the age of about 11-12, but generally didn't like it.

I started getting drunk with my mates aged about 14-15, but only very irrgeularly, and hid it from my parents.

At 16-17 I was drinking fairly regularly, with my parents knowledge and sometimes in their company. They didn't try to stop me; they realised I would do it anyway, I guess, and wanted to be able to monitor it and know I was being sensible (ish) about it. They'd even pick me up from clubs so they knew I would get home safely, and even pull over for me to throw up on the way home on one occasion! (Dad actually wasn't very happy at me that time, but I think they accepted it was part of growing up, and it was never when I had school or work the next day)

At Uni, from 18 onwards, I drank a LOT, every weekend. From just after my 20th birthday to just before my 21st I actually stopped drinking for 11 months, so I could concentrate on sport and fitness more. I learnt that I could have a good time without drinking.

Since then, I still drink fairly regularly; quite often more than is "good" for me (last night, for example) but only at the weekend. I also go out sometimes and don't drink at all though, and often drive so that I "can't" have a drink, and when I drive, I still enjoy myself. Every so often I take a few months off drom drinking all together, for physical and mental health, generally.

I think being too strict about underage drinking is counter productive. All of the new legislation brought in only affects young people who would be sensible anyway. The ones who need to be targetted just drink anyway and flout the rules!

Well, i turned 13 this summer, and i don't drink. Where i live, it's rather normal for kids at my age to drink. I havn't been drunk (mostly because i don't wan't to.) I do like to take a small bottle of beer and equivalents (under 5%), wich havn't lead to much more than just me being happy :p The night i turned 13, i was in Greece, and we got some "Ouzo" wich is some liquor at 40% - needless to say, i wanted to taste it, so my parents gave me a mixed glass (i think it was 7-15%). In less than 10 minutes after drinking that (wich besides tasted awesome ) i wen't to bed and felt asleep as i hit my bed. I was pretty shocked that the alcohol hitted me that hard, wich is why i don't wan't to drink more than just a beer once in a while.

Growing up in a seaside tourist town in Cornwall, drinking is a serious pastime, the Cornish drink like the Irish and Scots. I started drinking at 13, going to beach parties and the usual, then at about 16 started going to pubs, there were two in the town that turned a blind eye to younger drinkers in the back rooms.
I became something of a beer monster during my 20s, out most nights, it was great and I had a very good time, but towards 30 I ran out of steam, starting putting on a lot of weight and started suffering in the mornings. I moved to Bristol to get a better life and in doing so, moved away from my drinking mates and having a 'local' pub.
I've lost a ton of weight and got considerably healthier, but I've also lost my mojo, I used to comfortably drink 15 pints and chasers with many of them, now less than half that will see me drunk and suffering the next day (out last night and consumed too much so suffering today).

Strangely though I don't drink at home, unless perhaps a glass of wine with a meal occasionally, my mother was a very aggressive binge alcoholic and so we never had booze in the house when I was growing up. I associate drinking to excess with being in a pub or at a party.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the kids trying out booze in their teens, or even getting drunk, it's ensuring it's done in a safe environment and with people they trust. It's the need to conceal what they're doing that often results in them getting into trouble by using abandoned and unsafe places.

Yeah, I almost never drink at home either. All of the flatmates I have ever had seem to drink during the week, sometimes quite heavily, at home. I don't even have a glass of wine with a meal at home, or even at my parents'.