drinking age

nobody on this page mentioned the drinking age of 21. isn't that a stupid law, too? if you are considered an adult at 18, why can't you drink a beer at 18? everything should either be lowered to 18 or raised to 21, but not both, because the word 'adult' should only have one definition. once you hit 'adulthood,' you should be given all civil rights... whether it's 21 or 18.

I believe that you should be considered an adult across the board (drinking,voting tattooing,etc etc etc) when you are allowed to vote in your countries' elections...wouldn't that make sense?

21 always seemed like a weird, arbitrary age.. for us Canadians, its closer anyways (18 to smoke and 19 to drink) ... But it makes more sense to have it all one age.... 18 does seem logical. If you can vote, marry, buy property.... ya get the idea. Though 18 and 21 are worlds apart in perspective.. the "end of high school" to the "end of university" mindsets are very different. I've heard many artists encourage people to wait until they're 20 or 21 before being tattooed, because many people change their minds and get them for different reasons by that age.

Tried to leave a post here, and it didn't work, so, here we go again! The adult age of 18 is just there to make you feel special. Truth is, you don't get treated like an adult until you're 21. Why? Cause the drinking age of course! And why is the drinking age 21? Who the hell knows! It sure isn't for any logical reasons. I mean, most countries are at 18, while we're at 21...which is supposed to be a more responsible age to drink, only we have more problems with this than any other country, hmm. It's dumb, that said, I've got a question. Am I the only one who thinks that we simply baby people too much here? Between the censoring, all these kids getting diagnosed with this imbalance/that imbalance...hell, you're likely to go to jail for a while if you choose any punishment method short of telling your kid to go to his fully furnished luxury suite, formerly known as a bedroom. Whatever happened to a good old fashioned ass whoopin? We censor EVERYTHING...unless of course you're talking about paris hilton, jessica simpson, pamela..okay that list goes on forever. Fact is, we censor too much of the wrong shit, and leave the content there without explanation because we think the kids aren't aware of it. Give me a break. I could go on, but I want responses first! lol Jeremy

Jeremy here is where I must disagree with you...Hitting a child teaches only that violence is ok...I have 4 kids and have NEVER EVER raised my hand to them ...When I was a child and screwed up I was beaten ...one of those "good ol ass whoopins" you mentioned...that taught me nothing but if people aren't acting as you think they should well just beat the crap out of em to keep em in line....My kids were hurt worse just by knowing that they disappointed me...that they had hurt my heart....my oldest son Nathan once sais" dad I wish you would just spank me instead of this talkin stuff" and we constantly were told how well mannered our kids were...without ass whoopins!! Children do need discipline they do not need to be hit!

Hey, I'm not saying to hit kids here! I tell you what, maybe it's just by the way I was brought up. My dad spanked me, and I never once thought that because he spanked me that it was okay to just go around hitting people. I think there's a pretty big difference, and I think that thought process that it only teaches children that hitting is okay is a gross exageration. It's like that idea with video games, that kids don't understand that it's not reality...if you explain to your kids the difference, they are going to understand. I didn't "fear" him for spanking me either. More so, I respected him for his consistency and ability to handle the situation. Let me reiterate...there's huge huge HUGE difference between disciplining a child by spanking them, then beating till they are black and blue for doing something wrong. Huge difference. On the flip side (I had divorced parents, so I got two different methods here, lol) My mother NEVER spanked me. I got various punishments, being grounded to my room, from whatever I liked to do at the time, or just yelled at. And I tell you what, I listened to my dad a hell of a lot more than my mom. Maybe it was just my mom's inconsistancy, but I just didn't listen as much. I'm also the type of kid who's so damn patient...taking my shit away doesn't do anything but annoy me. I know I spent a good portion of high school just coming home, staring at my wall and thinking...so much for constructive punishment. Hey taz, I'm not saying spanking is a cure all, or that other methods don't work...afterall you're a successful parent/grandparent, so obviously other methods work great! Im just saying that I know a good portion of people who would've benifited (sp) from a spanking here n there. C'mon...your turn :P, I can do this all night...and I mean that in a good way, I definitely love to see different views and give my own, especially without animosity, and just some good conversation. p.s. In no way am I trying or expecting to change your mind either, haha. Jeremy

The age at which one should be considered an adult, legal also to drink, is the one at which a said individual is deemed competent to volenteer to be blown to bits for his/her own country. TCE

Jeremy...don't trip my friend...I respect your opinion...as much as anyone on this forum ...you are wise beyond your age...I only wish some of the others were into DEBATING and DISCUSSING rather than getting their feelings hurt and calling names....your are very young yet but your maturity is amazing...that said...ShUT THE FUCK UP YA LITTLE TWIT Or I"LL WRING YERR FUGGIN NECK!! Just kiddin pal!! Keep those posts comin!...TAz

the drinking age is 21 because the brain is not fully developed until age 21. the truth is that the brain never actually stops developing, but taking alcohol before this age does change your body. if they ever changed the drining age to under 21 i'd just go to 21+ bars still because i hate kids.

Well bob, despite that fact that the brain is physically fully developed at 21, I'm still going to call bullshit (not on you, the reasoning behind the law). I firmly believe that turning 21 doesn't automatically give you the maturity to handle your alcohol, just as being 18 doesn't automatically turn you into an adult. It's all about maturity. For some, it takes 40 years to learn, for others, hardly any time at all...and sadly, some just never learn it. As far as the "I hate kids" comment goes, I think you should reconsider. Yeah, there are a lot of immature kids...but I think I've seen just as many stupid adults too. Just remember, age doesn't make you immune to acts of immaturity.

Hate kids?...Well personally I would rather party and have fun with a bunch of "kids" any day that to sit down and Party with uptight H8TRs like you! What a comment huh folks? I hate kids....asshole!

If I remember correctly (and that in itself is a shot in the dark) the legal drinking age was raised from 18 to 21 primarily because of the high rate of drunk driving fatalities among teenagers.

Looks like that is the reason. Although I think the statistics have just clouded people's heads here. Believe the law was raised in 1984. There was a raise in alcohol related accidents involving teenagers aged 18-20. It IS easy to believe that alcohol is the initial problem. Now I don't know if they looked at the other variables or not, but if not, they should have. More cars, more kids, more money, ect. Obviously deaths are going to go up! I just honestly don't think it has much to do with the age limit. I don't see how almost every other country could have an age limit of 18, sometimes even 16, yet have far fewer deaths, while here we are with the limit at 21, and STILL have more deaths. As a matter of fact, I think the higher age limit is detrimental to safe drinking. It does not allow you to mature with the experience of drinking under good conditions, such as with your parents, whereas you might just learn the difference between casual drinking and getting plastered. Learn your limits, how good a buzz feels, how to pace yourself so that when you actually do hit 21 you don't go to the bar and get your ass kicked or tossed out for puking your guts out all over their counter. I think it's also the conditioning that completely fucks it all up. Everyone remember D.A.R.E.? "Don't drink, that's BAD BAD BAD"...then you turn 21 and everything's all of a sudden okay? Give me a break. This is sort of what I refer to taz when I say we get "babied". All this shit is a "no no" until someday where it's suddenly acceptable. I just...do NOT understand the logic...maybe help me out here. Because I'm not sure if parents think their kids either won't understand that drinking is okay in moderation? Or that sex is actually natural? No I'm not talking about telling your 6 year old about it, but do you think you're actually going to scar a 10 year old if he sees a pair of boobs? I highly doubt it. Beating your child in a drunk rage scars your kid, getting arrested, divorced, screaming at your child, THAT is what scars kids. Not "too much information". We get the information, if not from you, from somebody else, so I think the best you could do is to be open about it and make sure your kids get educated about the poper process. Anyways, I sort of feel like I was getting off topic, but then again I don't. I believe it all ties in somehow. Afterall, it's all comes down to the question of maturity right? Maybe it's that "limit" that doesn't allow young adults to mature like they should...just a thought. And no, I'm not making any accusations as to any one of your guys' parenting skills. I just say it how I feel it. I don't have any kids of my own, so I'm aware that a lot of my opinions may reflect that. But yeah, long enough for now, lol...MORE PEOPLE NEED TO GET INTO THIS!!!! :P, c'mon guys, ya wanted to see more in depth posts, well here you go :P As always, Jeremy

Jeremy as usual you make a lot of sense and I agree that kids here are babied until they are old enough to get in a car and drink and whatever...and then they just do not have the skills to cope....in france where kids start drinling wine and brandy with meals at a very early age there are much less problems ...they weren't babied and just aren';t thrown into an adults world without some sense of an adults responsibility.

My sister raised my niece with the "open" method. I think they have a better relationship becuase of it she's only 19 but was an "A" hororall student (with the occasional high "B"). She was never hit or spanked. My nephew who is young has mental issues and is scarred for life for reasons that were out of my sisters control. Divorce, abusive enviroment (dad was given custody), his fathers death and more. My niece is allowed to drink w/mom and smoke (she doesn't though). She is currently attending the same college as her mom and they are both doing very well. People are very much a product of their enviroment. There are many factors in good parenting. I don't have kids yet, but my child may see a belt as a last resort. Me and my with believe in it as a last resort. You gorund him he sneaks out. (I know I did), I got spanked and didn't do it again. As I got older spanking became less effective and other methods were more necessary.

i firmly agree with Taz's comment that hitting a child teaches them that when you are upset and want someone to stop, you hit them. Why do you think some kids fight more than others? Or some kids yell more quickly than others do? Watching them play is a prime example. There were two kids in the daycare i worked at that ALWAYS rough-housed. And i mean ALWAYS. This was not because they didn't like eachother or anything, they saw biting and hitting and wrestling as playing, because they knew eachother through football and sports and that's how they played outside of the daycare. Their parents were also always joking around and into sports and such. However, a little girl in the class, quiet as a mouse, gentle, loved to sit and color. Smart as a whip. Mom was the exact same way. Same goes for hitting when you are mad...they think if they are mad, they hit. Monkey see monkey do. As for the drinking age, i don't know if it's because of brain developement or drunk driving, but i think that we need to take a serious look at EVERYONE who drinks. I, personally, don't and dont' plan to...at 19 or at 99, but, i know people who do. I know poeple who are younger than me that drink iresponcibly, i know people a LOT OLDER than me that act the same way. Drinking messes with your head, and, no matter what your age, if you can't deal with it...you shouldn't be able to have it to begin with.

Weeeee! You got me started on this.. you have to deal with the results! I'm a firm believer in lowering the drinking age to 16, in certain respects. Meaning, you CAN'T buy the shit, you cannot be over the legal limit of .08. You have to be with your parents, and it's only like beer, and wine, and like, malt beverages and stuff, no hard liquor. I feel like, if kids these days knew what alcohol did to them before they even had a chance to get behind the wheel, there'd be a lot less drunk driving accidents involving teenagers. On another note.. driving should be 18.. mmhmm..

Ducky, I want to reiterate...you guys are still caught up on "hitting in anger" and that is absolutely NOT what I'm talking about. Discipilnary spanking is very different. Even the BDSM community agrees that spanking in anger is very wrong, and it's no different for children. THAT is where grounding is supposed to be an appropriate tool, if you are unable to at that time properly go about the disciplinary process due to anger, sending your child to their room gives you time to cool down before taking action, while also allowing the kid to think about his/her actions. I don't in any way condone spanking in anger, that is how somebody gets hurt, and the wrong message gets across. However, I believe you can go through the spanking process and at the same time practice positive reinforcement. With a level head you can explain to the child during the process why he/she is being punished, and afterwards spend time with her/him, play with them, ect. Spanking has a bad wrap nowadays due to the abuse stories, and people practicing improper methods. You are going to find stories on both sides of the fence as to whether a child who was spanked behaves well or is violent. That's because there are many more factors involved here. Overall, I think the amount of time you spend with your children has the largest effect on their behaviour, but once again guys, Im not a parent, this is just what I've seen. My mom runs a daycare...I grew up with 10-15 kids in my house every day...so I have a scrap of experience with em. Oh, and I don't remember what country it was amber...but that's exactly how the law works there. 16 for beer and such, 21 for hard A...something like that. Jeremy

seriously taz u r stoo pid wit da komence n stuff. and trust me, any cited epidemiologic study is corrected for population inflation and rates of accidents per age group. furthermore, drinking at earlier ages can severely deform someone. could it be reduced? of course. will it? probably not. is it a big deal? no.

Wow Damn!!! I'm dying to get in on this one, but I'm not sure where to start... Taz, didn't I do this one once before with Keepn'itreel to the tune of about 300 posts? Maybe it's just better to stay out of it. Drinking age: 21 Military age: 21 Driving age: 21 Age my Daughters can date: Not while I'm fucking alive!! By the way, Bob, keep an open mind. I almost convinced TCE he was good Dad material once. Ya never know... Ya never know...

jeremy, i agree that you're smart for your age. you seem to have really thought this out. but i'm not a parent either... i do subscribe to the "hitting in anger is never right, but spanking can be done constructively" school as well though. the problem is.. that works in theory, and perhaps for my own kids SOMEDAY.. but there's a LOT of parents out there that do just hit in anger..... but i guess if you're not modeling self-control in general, that's a much bigger root issue than spanking/not spanking.