Wisconsin: Lowering the drinking to 18 again!

[BlackKnight]

If I lived in Wisconsin, I'd want to drink asap.

No Doubt.

I got mixed feeling about this issue.... I do think there might be a Spike in Traffic Violations,.. However at the same time I think ,.. if someone can go to war & get killed,.. why can't they be able to drink as well ?

[Adam West]

I don't like the idea. I know I was not mature enough at 18 to be able to handle alcohol in a responsible manner. Sometimes, I go to College Football games and see kids making total fools of themselves...there are quite a few adults too.

My son is now 13 and know it won't be long before we have to deal with this issue. I'll let him have a swig of beer of wine now and then and he doesn't like it....but I know how that goes. I'm not naiive into thinking he won't get involved, I just want to make a pact with him to never get into a car with someone who has been drinking or to not drive if he has been drinking regardless of his age. My end will be to promise to come pick him up no matter what time of night and not to punish him.

[Vortigern99]

Wow, Adam, that is a very fair and equitable two-way rule. You sound like a good dad!

To my mind the "old enough to vote and serve in the military" argument is illogical. As another member pointed out, at 18 we are old enough to do those things, but we still don't get SS or Medicare benefits until age 65. There are simply some rights and priveleges that accrue with age, and not all of these are or should be given out the instant the age of majority is reached.

[Adam West]

Plus the argument doesn't fly anymore regarding the draft since the military has not imposed a draft since the Vietnam war to the best of my recollection. The drinking age was 18 at that time.

[huedell]

Wow, Adam, that is a very fair and equitable two-way rule. You sound like a good dad!

That promise that Adam spoke of is probably one of the BEST
popular parenting drugs/alcohol related ideas to be created.

Still...you have to make sure after telling your kid that, that they
really understand your sincerity and support----otherwise, they may be
too afraid of reproach if they take you up on the offer.

BTW...if I was a parent...I'd want the drinking age to be 21

Might as well have the law helping you out with the kid as LONG as possible

Alcohol's great----but when it's trouble---it's TROUBLE

[Hotfoot]

Ban it and it will be abused. Legalize it and it will be abused! If kids grew up where it wasn't such a big deal it wouldn't be a major problem IMHO. Same with nudity!

[huedell]

Ban it and it will be abused. Legalize it and it will be abused! If kids grew up where it wasn't such a big deal it wouldn't be a major problem IMHO. Same with nudity!

You're gonna take your clothes off?

Let's see some I.D.

[Adam West]

The reason I am very sincere with my pact has to do with my own upbringing.

My father was an alcoholic (I use it in the past tense because he is no longer alive). He was clean and sober by the time I was born so I never saw him touch the stuff and never discussed it. My mother didn't drink and was completely intolerant to my siblings and I "experimenting". We were like most other teens and experimented but would have been severely punished had my mom found out. As a result, I made some really bad choices....driving while intoxicated for one. Luckily, I did not crash the car, hurt anyone, or get pulled over. My instincts told me to call home and explain what had happened but knew that I would face punishment.

I do not want my children to feel that way...I care about them too much. That is not to say that I will not lecture them about responsible and irresponsible drinking and although I would prefer they wait until they're 21 (and I still think that's too low of an age), I am realistic. The rules will be very plain and simple. If they are out and are drinking, call me anytime even if it is so late at night that it would be painful for me to get out of bed and I will drive any distance to pick them up without any fear of punishment or lecture. On the other hand, if I do catch them drinking and driving or riding as a passenger with someone under the influence (I will make it clear that I will catch them since I know every trick in the book), the consequences will be severe. Maybe not the best way to handle it but I will do anything to keep my kids alive knowing that experimentation will take place.

[huedell]

I think everything you posted makes sense----it's just that with that offer,
it's hard to ride that line between keeping open communication and scaring
them away from you with "too much" stern reproach (or the threat of it).

I apologize if I wasn't clear in the last post about how hard that is
regardless of "where you're coming from".

There's no way of percisely handling it----it's something you play minute by
minute, hoping you're making the right decisions.

Godspeed!

[Brue]

Drinking alcohol has its dangers. I certainly did myself no favors in the late 80s/early 90s. After breaking ny back in an alcohol related incident and nearly failing out of school in large part to binge drinking. And other mitigating factors I wizened up and set limits which I abide to to this day. Never drink and drive (or take part in anything that requires top notch awareness) 2 drink maximum weeknights. No hard stuff. No getting drunk.

Know your limits.

Ohio is considering changing to 18 with OSU president E Gordon Gee lending his support.

The theory is that people will drink regardless. take away the need to sneak and you take away defiant causes to drink and some i8llegal behavior that accompanies it.

Of course the 21 proponents argue that 18-20 can't set there own limits. (I suppose I would be case in point considering I was legal age at 19)

[Adam West]

I mentioned a while back that the drinking age was 18 in Washington D.C. and 21 in Maryland back when I turned 18. D.C. changed its law but I was grandfathered in and could legally drink in D.C. I found myself in D.C. all the time not out of defiance but because I could.

I remember Sr. year in High School, I had a creative writing class being taught by one of my favorite teachers. She gave a lot of praise and encouragement and her classes were a bit unstructured, allowing a lot of free flow thoughts to get the creative juices going without fear of feeling like your ideas were stupid.

Anyway, there was an Impressionist Art Exhibit down at the Smithsonian Art Gallery and took our class down there to see it since it was only there for a few weeks and give us a chance to see some classic paintings. A small group of students had already turned 18 and thought it would be fun to get snockered in the Smithsonian cafeteria rather than take part of the exhibit. It was legal for them to drink and they took full advantage of it.

Needless to say, she was extremely upset that she went out of her way to do something nice and rather than take part in seeing some amazing paintings, they chose to drink. I felt bad for her because her heart was in the right place and my peers seemed like they could have cared less. Again, I just think 18 is too young.

[Cosmicman]

IAgain, I just think 18 is too young.

If my daughter is still living under my roof, it will be illegal for her to drink no matter what the law is.