Underage drinking

[[furrycat]]

I think this is one of the biggest problems that our young people are facing these days; and that is the pressure to start drinking at a young age.

I've seen 12/13 year olds drunk off their faces on the street, and they think it isn't going to hurt them in any way for the future. I don't drink and have nothing against those who do, but I really think that underage drinking needs to be targetted and they need to remove drinks off the market that target young kids (those farkin alcoholic fizzy like drinks that taste like lemonade yet get kids pissed).

 

[Samwise]

This is a parenting issue. Alcohol companies aren't responsible here. And i'd say those premix lolly water drinks are aimed at young club and pub patrons (mostly females).

12/13 is too young imo to be getting mullered unsupervised. I started drinking around the age of 15-16, with my parents blessing. though it was always supervised. I wasn't going down the park at night with mates and a bottle of rum.

 

[Leagueguy]

Yeah I've seen 12-13 year olds roaming the streets really drunk too. :lol:

 

[Phillips]

i started drinking at 17, im not a big drinker...couple times every few months IF that

agree that is a parenting issue..if your a parent and cant control what your kids do, you have problems

 

[Martli]

We have massive problems with this in NZ too. They're voting today about putting the age up to 20 although if it gets through it will still need one final vote in order to become law.

But yes, it's very much a case of "it's not what we're drinking it's how we're drinking". I think we both have very simialr drinking cultures, "drink to get f**ked up" god knows I do it and love it. But when kids see us doing this they want to emulate it and try to be like those who drink overage. I think this ultimately results in underage drinking.

But I don't think our drinking cultures can be explained that easily though. There are some definate problems though that need to be solved. I am not convinced that putting the age up to 20 (like people are proposing in NZ) will work, all it means is that 18 and 19 year olds will now become underage drinkers and our problems will remain. Kids will still get their hands on alcohol regardless of age.

 

[Crusher]

I gew up as the son of italian parents having a glass or two of wine with every meal (the homemade stuff). It started when I was around 12 but I think it made me a responsible drinker. Either that or I handle my grog well.

 

[King_Kyle_Sandilands]

I never drank engaged in ANY under-age drinking because I had a sheltered childhood and adolescence due to close-minded religious parents that were more interested in using me as a vehicle to realise their unfulfilled dreams of academic success rather than giving me some sort of life

 

[Dani]

First time i got drunk i was 12...
Then i didnt touch alcohol again till i was about 16. Went hard at it for about a year. It's what kids do. I never felt pressured to drink. And if you think your kids wont do it, you're very naive.

My parents used to buy me a 4 pack or whatever when i was underage to take to parties and NOT once did i abuse it. I drank my 4 and went on my merry way. Where as my friends who hid their drinking would wait around safeways for someone who would go in and buy them drinks and then they'd drink until they threw up.

My parents had the mentality to TRUST me. They knew what and how much i was drinking and always knew that if anything happened, i'd call them straight away.

When i turned 18 i must admit, going out to clubs and things, i went a bit crazy, but these days it doesn't interest me much at all.
I rarely see my friends these days cause thats all they do. Go out to clubs/pubs, get so drunk they vomit, go home and sleep for 2 hours and go to work very under the weather. It's not who i am.

I have drunk myself stupid 3 maybe 4 times. But yeah, i will have a social drink these days, but i don't drink to get drunk, like most of my friends who keep it from their parents.

 

[Crusher]

The worst I got was in my late teens/early 20's touring with the band. Got smashed regularly, almost every night after a gig. I seemed to recover Ok though but could never do that now.

 

[Phillips]

im a country boy, i can handle my grog

 

[Dr Crane]

My parents let me drink (within limits) since i was 12.

I don't have the desire to get slaughtered, and i don't feel pressured to do it either. I can enjoy a sports game without getting drunk - in fact i can't even see the point of forking out the money to go to something only to get so drunk i wouldn't remember it.

Hell, i could probably easily live the rest of my life without alcohol. But i don't mind the taste of it, so meh.

But enough about me. Underage drinking is a culture problem, as Martli said the young kids are trying to mimic those who get trashed regularly. Its one of those things that has come into culture over time, and will take just as long to get rid of.

 

[Crusher]

My name is Crusher and I'm an alcoholic

Oh sh*t, wrong place!

 

[Raider_69]

i got tanked pretty much every weekend from age 14 through till today

i turned out ok, it did me alot of good for the future imo, so personally i think if the person knows what they are doing and knows their limitations as i have since day dot of drinking, then it can be fairly harmless, or as harmless as young kids get these days, that said it can easily turn into something a whole lot worse, which i have also experienced.

the only times ive drunk myself stupid were times i wanted to do so, and my issues at the time were much more deep seeded then alcoholism

 

[Martli]

I think parents play a big part in it. First time I got drunk I was 14 and I got hammered but managed to hide it well. After that experience I kept my drinking quite low to the point where I would get tipsy and not make it obivous that i'd been drinking. Being the oldest child I was the vicitim of reasonably strict parenting (when compared to my brother) so I always felt it was nessesacy to hide it from my parents until I got to like 16. Then I was pretty open about it and they'd buy me a six pack to take to parties (although unlike dani I would always have a few more ). But I was always the responsible drinker during my last few years in high school and would help look after mates that got too drunk. I think ultimately, 16 would have been a good age to start, 14 and 15 was a bit young. Having strict parents when I was young didn't help as it just caused me to lie heaps but when they actually gave me alcohol it was sweet and I drank pretty responsibly.

The problems are with kids who's parents don't care and so will just emulate the behaviour of people who are my age becuase they want to be all grown up and mature (At my age?!?! Please!)

But nowdays i'm pretty similar to young crush but the band has broken up... however my drinking habits/abilities are not within the thread's topic.

 

[lockyno1]

Comes down to a bit of both. The problem is that as much as some may not like it 95% of underage people do drink. I think it is about limitations rather than preventing. Parents play a big role in that. IMO if you try and ban kids from drinking, they will end up getting more smashed as they will pay people to buy their alcohol. That will be worse than limiting their intake.

 

[Timmah]

95% is a bit rich mate.

 

[Martli]

Agreed, but it is pretty high.

 

[lockyno1]

95% is a bit rich mate.

You'd be surprised. I recon it would be in the 80's at least, if not in the 90's in terms of what % of underage kids have touched alcohol.

 

[Martli]

I would say 80s-90s.

 

[Crusher]

big difference between touched and tanked.

In europe it would be 100%