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Discussion Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: alaric99x on September 11, 2012, 06:19:17 pm
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In almost all countries the legal drinking age is 18. In France they just raised the drinking age ( in 2006) to 18, but very young kids will get one or two glasses of wine with meals at home. You'll see that at restaurants too, nobody really enforces the drinking age, that is, not when the parents are ordering the wine. It's very common to see 7 year old kids sipping on wine in the restaurants in France. In Germany the legal age is 14 for beer and wine at any establishment as long as a parent or legal guarian is present. At age 16 it's legal to order or buy beer and wine in Germany without a parent or legal guardian present, and at 18 it's legal to order or buy any kind of alcohol. In the UK it's legal to drink beer, wine or cider from the age of 5, as long as you're home with your parent or guardian or in someone else's home. In the UK you can also order beer, wine or cider in a restaurant, without a parent or guardian present, as long as you order that together with your restaurant meal, no restrictions on how much you order with any meal. In the UK, as in most places, the drinking age for all alcoholic beverages is 18.
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I have heard and seen that different countries have different legal drinking age. Some places kids are able to pick up alcohol for adults and so on... :dontknow: I think i would want me kids to be 18 and over to start anything like drinking...
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So I could assume that you don't routinely serve a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, or whatever other kind of wine, to your 7 year old boy or girl to enjoy with his or her spaghetti-o's?
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When I lived in Germany in the early 2000's, they didn't even enforce the legal drinking age. When I asked them, most of my friends had their first drink around age 7. Most often this was in a restaurant and purchased by their grandparents.
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Ehh, things are funny like that. My dad would order wine or beer and ask us if we'd like to try in when we were younger. Obviously that's different then having your dad order you a glass of beer, but sorta same thought. Honestly though, drinking isn't bad if done in moderation. If you have a glass of wine with that chicken breast, carrots, mashed potatoes, and a salad, it really isn't going to do a lot to your body.
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I live in New Orleans. The drinking age was always 18 here until a few years ago. I think now you can go in bars at 18 but not drink until 21.
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america needs to get with the program on:
1. drinking age
2. metric system.
that is all.
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When I lived in Germany in the early 2000's, they didn't even enforce the legal drinking age. When I asked them, most of my friends had their first drink around age 7. Most often this was in a restaurant and purchased by their grandparents.
Of course, I'm well aware of that, it's still the same way today. You order a bottle of wine in a restaurant, none of the staff will pay any attention if you give your kids a glass or two.
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It's not illegal to allow your child to drink at home in America, is it? ???
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I have always had a problem with the "legal" drinking age period. Sounds a lot like government involvement in being a parent. And furthermore if a young person is allowed to make the decision to serve their country I believe that person should be allowed to make the decision to consume amy beverage they choose.
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It's not illegal to allow your child to drink at home in America, is it? ???
Yes, it actually is against the law. It's just that nobody monitors what you do in your own home. If any law enforcement authority could ever find proof that you were providing alcohol to an underage minor, you would have some serious legal, or actually criminal problems to deal with.
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Funny thing about alcohol in this country. I'm guessing it could be partially due to the fact we have to wait until 21 to drink. One group of people consider drinking evil, and are taught from a young age that concept. The other group of people are just as strange. You could go visit a friends house and grab a soda out of their fridge with out asking and they'd think nothing of it, but if you touch a beer with out asking you better look for a new friend. Kind of funny how protective people are of such a small thing.
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It's not illegal to allow your child to drink at home in America, is it? ???
Yes, it actually is against the law. It's just that nobody monitors what you do in your own home. If any law enforcement authority could ever find proof that you were providing alcohol to an underage minor, you would have some serious legal, or actually criminal problems to deal with.
Actually there is no federal law proscribing that, nor is there a federal law against drinking under 21. All of those laws are under state jurisdiction. The states themselves have to make those laws. Which is why mperez7372 mentioned that it was legal in New Orleans until a few years ago. Wisconsin also recently considered dropping their drinking age to 18; I believe that law failed, but they do allow 18-year olds to drink at home under parental supervision (and I believe it has to be their own parents, not their friend's). The reason why most people have this misconception is that the federal government has usually included a 21 drinking limit attached to their highway funding, meaning if a state chooses to have a drinking age lower than 21, they don't get the funds from the federal government. Which is why in some states this is a big debate... Can they get enough tax money generated from sale to those in the 18-20 year old range to compensate for the loss in money from the federal government.
I personally think that their should be a single age of majority. After that age, you can buy tobacco, view pornography, buy alcohol, make legal-binding agreements, go to war, drive a car, consent to sex, etc. As it is, we seem to have many different ages of majority, some of which seem backwards. In some states, the age of consent is 16 (or even younger) yet some movies are Restricted for those under 18 (let alone No Children 17 and under or more hard-core pornography). Tobacco is also set to 18, yet alcohol is set to 21. Binding-contracts are set to 18 yet most rental agencies won't allow you to sign a rental agreement unless you are at least 25. And probably the most adult thing -- to sacrifice your life for your country -- is set to 18.
EDIT: Why is it that "pornography" is ok to write in the forums, but "p*rn" gets *beep*'ed?! (And I can't even substitute a zero?!)
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In canada most provinces have a legal drinking age of 18 but a couple have a legal drinking age of 19.
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I believe that since the legal drinking age is 21 then then age for someone to sign up to serve this country and be willing to die for this country should be 21.
If someone is old enough to signup to serve this country then he/she should be old enough to legally drink.
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It's not illegal to allow your child to drink at home in America, is it? ???
Yes, it actually is against the law. It's just that nobody monitors what you do in your own home. If any law enforcement authority could ever find proof that you were providing alcohol to an underage minor, you would have some serious legal, or actually criminal problems to deal with.
It's actually not against the law in most states.
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Shouldn't be drinking at all.
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I agree, kids shouldn't be drinking at all. I don't think the legal drinking age should be under 21 either. I was happy when it was raised. There are so many irresponsible drinkers of all ages on the roads now, and to many kids partying.
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It's not illegal to allow your child to drink at home in America, is it? ???
Yes, it actually is against the law. It's just that nobody monitors what you do in your own home. If any law enforcement authority could ever find proof that you were providing alcohol to an underage minor, you would have some serious legal, or actually criminal problems to deal with.
Wrong. There are only about 10 states where it is illegal. Inb my state I or my husband can give our kids alcohol if we want to and there isn't a damn thing any law enforcement can do about it. As long as we aren't getting them *bleep* faced drunk and endangering their health or safety it is perfectly legal.
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OK, I concede the point. In every country in Europe the government makes the laws for the entire country. I had to explain to my wife that in the "United States," the individual states have most of the rights to make their own laws, a concept most Europeans have trouble understanding. I guess I forgot that myself in this case.
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I have nothing against setting everything at 21-- but when it comes to military service, I think if an 18 year old wanted to sign up, then they should be able to. But then again, my boys were born with the military gene-- they both went Army at 18, and I couldn't have stopped them even if I had been inclined to. Alcohol is a dicey thing-- after all, smoking while driving rarely kills anyone, and going in the Army only gets your own behind shot off potentially-- not an innocent person's. I am less than zero tolerance on DUI offenders, whether the cause is drugs or alcohol.
My kids grew up in an alcohol free house. Both of them had their first drinks at 21-- luckily, neither of them has developed a taste for it. I have seen too many drunks on both sides of my family, not to mention a lot of other people I have known. I'll take a smoker over a drinker any day. Not a fanatic about it, but just don't like to deal with drunk people-- most of them are a pain in the tail.
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i think that the way they raise their kids in other countries and the atmosphere and culture have a lot to do with why the drinking age would be lower in those countries. I think they teach more responsibility and the way they enjoy it is totally different than the way we think about it here. it's an escape and a way to cope with things here and just makes things worse for a lot of people and in those countries they enjoy it with dinner and don't go crazy like we do, it's a part of their everyday lives and they savor it. Here everyone wants to get drunk and act stupid. I really dislike people here and the lack of values we all have
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The legal drinking age should stay at 21. Many adults have enough problems holding their liquor, lets not make it worse. :o :o :o :o :o :o
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I believe that since the legal drinking age is 21 then then age for someone to sign up to serve this country and be willing to die for this country should be 21.
If someone is old enough to signup to serve this country then he/she should be old enough to legally drink.
I agree.
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its 21 here
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Drinking age never matters anyway, not unless they start enforcing people who buy for underage kids. I was able to get a hold of alcohol at a very young age and it messed up my life.
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i think that the way they raise their kids in other countries and the atmosphere and culture have a lot to do with why the drinking age would be lower in those countries. I think they teach more responsibility and the way they enjoy it is totally different than the way we think about it here. it's an escape and a way to cope with things here and just makes things worse for a lot of people and in those countries they enjoy it with dinner and don't go crazy like we do, it's a part of their everyday lives and they savor it. Here everyone wants to get drunk and act stupid. I really dislike people here and the lack of values we all have
I would have agreed with you 20 years ago, but that's not really the case anymore. It depends on the country. Kids in England drink a lot, so do kids in Germany, but drugs for kids in Germany are much more interesting, as they are for kids in Holland where marijuana and hashish are legal. Go to Amsterdam and, if you're not wearing a suit, you'll be offered extasie and cocaine on every street in the pedestrian zones. Incidentally, the marihauna cultivators have done a very good job in Holland, marihuana there is much more potent than the hashish, how do I know this? Don't ask, don't tell.
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Just to add to this comment, when I was managing the bowling center in Koblenz, Germany, the teachers who brought the school groups from England almost always asked me to tell my waitresses not to serve Red Bull or any energy drinks to their kids, of course, I complied with that and gave appropriate instructions to my waitresses, no reason having the kids high on Red Bull and bouncing off the walls, keeping their teachers awake at the local hotel where they would be staying. There was, however, no problem if the kids had a few beers, British kids were almost never interested in our local wines, but they really seemed to enjoy the local beers.
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In canada the legal drinking age is 18 in most states but a few have a legal drinking age of 19
why isnt it the same for the whole country? and isnt it country-wide in most other countries this is what ive seen thus far ???
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People today are so immature. If you lower the drinking age, there will only be MORE irresponsible people.
Look at all the DUI's out there...
I think that 21 is a good age.
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This is America not France, UK or any other foreign country the legal drinking age needs to be 25 years of age only for the simple fact being that most kids still attend college and most live at home with mommy and daddy. I have seen people die from Alcohol poison in the past where they drink to much or they start drinking at at 16 but in secret and they become lazy bum alcoholics I have done research on this and those who drink are more likely to continue when their older so 25 it is for my kids.
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I think the legal drinking age should be lowered to at least 18 - right now we have people in our country who are 18 who can legally be charged with a crime, who can vote and choose our countries leaders, who can be drafted into military service and expected to fight and die for this country - but who cannot have a drink after work. While we're at it, the voting age should be lowered to 16. When I was 16, I had working papers and a job, but could not vote, yet I still had to pay taxes. No taxation without representation, I say.