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Lowering The Drinking Age??

Posted by: BethJ007 on July 12, 2007 at 10:38AM EST

My dad and I were discussing teenage drinking, and it wasn't the conversation you would expect.

My family was up in Kentucky last week visiting family, and my dad and I took a trip over to the University of Kentucky where he went to school to visit his old fraternity house. The house mom showed us around and was telling us how they had become a "dry campus" a few years prior so they were no longer allowed to have parties with alcohol at the house. Her take on is was that it made the drinking problem worse because people were just going off campus to get drunk then driving back.

My dad started telling me about how when he was growing up the drinking age in the state he lived in was 18. His opinion is that if a person is old enough to vote for the President of the United States or go to war and fight for our country he should be able to buy a drink.

I wonder if it would make any difference in how much teens drink if the drinking age was lower. Would it be less appealing because it's not "against the rules"? What does everyone think about this?

(5) Comments

Posted by: Violet on July 25, 2007 10:33AM EST

I agree i think drinkning wouldn't be as "cool" or as fun if it were legal. That is part of the rush to be doing something that your are not allowed to do. However; it is a fact that drinking at a young age has even more serious risks than at an older age. I think if they lowered the drinking age then people would just find something worse that wasn't legal!

Posted by: Krisi on July 19, 2007 2:57AM EST

The main issue from a parents perspective is that we don't want our "children" drinking. The HS yrs are when the highest amount of peer pressure exist and whether the age is 18 or 21, kids are still faced w it being illegal all during HS. I agree w your Dad though. If you can give your life for my freedom & vote, you should be able to make any other decision on your own at 18. Just remember, as an adult, any decision is expected to be held accountable for. There are circumstances attached to all decisions. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. However, as a parent, I hope my kids don't drink until they are mature adults (if they ever choose to drink at all) and 18 is really not what I consider to be fully mature for most.

Posted by: Daisy on July 17, 2007 9:12AM EST

In my opinion i think it may be less appealing since they are not breaking the law. Teens do things that they know they are not allowed to to do in order to have funhave fun, and if they were allowed it makes me wonder if it would be as much fun for them. However, after reading cheer87's research on the matter it makes perfect sense why the drinking age is 21. After reading all that I think the drinking age should remain at 21.

Posted by: Dorothy Stahlnecker on July 17, 2007 1:04AM EST

This is grammy's second comment as I lost the first...(I think). If you are old enough to vote, and able to join the armed forces, and go to war..darn they at least should be able to order a drink. We are otherwise saying they are old enough to make decisions to elect our legislators and presidents, go to war and defend our country..and not drink using good judgment.. It doesn't make sense to this 61 year old grandmother. This is why I think young people should vote as soon as they turn 18 and they will be making the decisions which effect their lives. Hope this helps, good questions..
Regards, Grammy
http://grammology.com

Posted by: Cheer87 on July 12, 2007 4:27PM EST

I actually researched this for a speech that I had to give. The accident rate has lowered since the drinking age has been raised to 21. The drinking age is 21 because your brain continues to develop until that time. When people drink while their brain is developing, even at 18, brain cells are killed and parts of the brain do not develop fully. My opinion is that the drinking age should stay at 21. Yes, many teens are against this, but when they start doing research to realize why it's been raised, it makes a lot of sense.