According to the Police calls from the Aug. 18 edition of the Savage Pacer, officers were called to a home to investigate the use of alcohol by minors while the parents were on site.
From the article:
Aug. 7: Police received a report of adults providing minors with alcohol at a home in the 13200 block of Williamsberg Drive. There were two individuals under the age of 21 at the home, and one of them had been drinking. However, the one who had been drinking was under the supervision of a relative. All individuals involved were advised of the possible consequences. No charges were filed.
With the Scott County’s Social Host Ordinance being regularly enforced to cut down on the number of underage drinking incidents in which alcohol is served to minors with a knowing adult present, some residents may be confused as to whether how it applies to minors and their parents (it doesn’t). Yet, the question remains whether parents should allow underage consumption by their minor children in their own households.
Back in January, MPR covered the announcement of a bill in the House of Representatives which would have permitted 16 year olds to drink at bars and restaurants in the presence of a legal guardian. SImilar to the law which exists in WI and permits minors to drink with their parents at any age, the article notes it had no chance of passage. However there was a steady stream of comments at the bottom from those who were raised in WI and were disappointed that MN did not have a similar law on the books.
Obviously what someone allows their children to do in their house, responsibly, is one thing and certainly should not be infringed upon especially at holidays or other events where alcoholic beverages are served. If officers are called to a home because a minor is drinking under the direct supervision of an adult, should the adult be lectured about “possible consequences”? If the police were called do you wonder about the level of intoxication of the minor and why it was noticed by someone outside the home? Should minors be permitted to drink at bars and restaurants if their parents permit it? What age is appropriate? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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August 20th, 2012 at 7:43 am
The article doesn’t say what age they were, all it says is that they were “younger than 21″. so why is the report so vague? If they were 18 and up then it’s a non-issue AFAIC as in all other ways they are adults.
I see a lot of reports of underage drinking that involved people over 18 but not 21. To me, this is another waste of money and resources for the county.
Good for the detox industry though.
What would be a cutoff for those under 18 under direct parental control? 16 perhaps? 14? 12? Hard to say.
August 20th, 2012 at 8:31 am
Growing up, My parents let me have a beer or rum drink around them (when I was over 16) and when I wasn’t going anywhere in a vehicle. The only talk I got about drinking was “Don’t do something stupid, or make an ass of yourself” To date, I haven’t done either..
I think that being able to have one now and then with your parents around helps with the allure to getting tanked when you get into college/away from home, or have to sneak it at parties or whatever.
While I certainly won’t provide booze to minors, if parents wish to do so in their own home, with their kids in a controlled environment, I feel it’s safer than kids doing it under the bleachers at the football game and driving home drunk.
August 20th, 2012 at 8:50 am
This is a tough one across the board. My kids are both above 18 and under 21. They both went to Mexico for their respective spring break trips where you could drink at age 18. I have seen them both drink and I have seen a time or two in which they had too much too drink.
So what is better? Me being there as they learn how their bodies and brains react to alcohol or me looking the other way when they are drinking somewhere else that they may have driven to, or perhaps around someone else who is drinking and has keys to a car.
I realize my question above is sort of slanted, but for those of you that would say “Don’t allow them to drink” or “Punish them severely if they do” just would cause a greater issue of rebellion at some point later in life when they are old enough to drink legally at some point in my opinion.
More so, there have been a number of times in which one of my kids had a bunch of kids over. While we knew exactly what was going on in the basement of the house, it was a lot easier to look the other way and ensure that every kid stayed the night and didn’t drive home than to have them do the same thing but in a less controlled environment. If the police would have shown up, they could take them all in for underage drinking, but the fact that there was alcohol would have been news to me.
Both of my kids have a long way to go in life and there are no promises, but I like their chances as responsible drinkers a lot better now than if they had never yet tried a drink.
Also, my oldest like Furious. She can’t afford much more than a couple of cans of it if she is going to drink.
August 20th, 2012 at 10:00 am
My parents gave me a sip of beer here and there my whole life. Once I hit 15-16 I could have a whole beer or glass of the shitty koolaid wine they drink. I was able to appreciate Miller Light well before I was 21. They still drink some shitty beers.
People shouldn’t let their kids get fall down drunk, but having wine with a meal or a beer while watching the game is fine.
I think a harder ethical question is what to do about 20 year old foreign exchange students. Legally it is clear that it is illegal, but if you have a 18-20 year old foreign exchange student it must be hard to say, “oh you have to go find someone to buy it for you illegally then drink it secretly or get a fake ID from some shady character.” I guess that’s part of American culture though and they can bring back those fond memories to their friends.
August 20th, 2012 at 11:31 am
I’m with w00dz on this one. My father, by allowing me to have the occasional beer at home with him really took the “secret allure” out of drinking, and as a result, I never once went out drinking at a party with my friends who thought it was the best thing ever to sneak out and get wasted. I’ve definitely been drunk before, but I’ve always been responsible about where and with whom I’ve had that much booze. No non-parent should give a kid a drink, but a parent making that decision within their home is something else entirely.
August 20th, 2012 at 12:57 pm
I know lots of parents that allow this and have been to lots of grad parties where kids are drinking. My kids are under 16 – so don’t have the issue yet but won’t let them drink in US. If went to Mexico – probably would because is legal there. After age 18 – gets a little more difficult. You can vote, smoke, die for your country, go to jail – etc. but cannot drink. Seems silly to me. I will say, however, that most family issue are the result of drinking and drugs and if you get over age 21 without developing issues your odds of having issues with alcohol are much less.
August 20th, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Don’t care. However, if you are old enough to drink, you are old enough to accept the consequences. If you do something while drunk, like injure someone while driving, I don’t want to hear a bunch of whining about how”Unfair it is to send that poor 18 year old to prison and giving him a felony that will ruin his life for one mistake!” If you get caught drinking under age, accept the penalty. If you let your kids have a party and you either permit underage drinking, or you fail to maintain adequate supervision and by turning a blind eye allow it to occur, step up and accept responsibility if someone get sick or injured. Too many people expect all sorts of freedom, but are completely unwilling to accept responsibility for the choices they make or accept the consequences of their actions. Kid or not, sometimes the consequences of the choices you make affect you and/or others for the rest of thier lives.
August 20th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
There are some compelling scientific studies that indicate on average, humans do not have the mental capacity prior to about Age 21 to consider long term consequences of the decisions they make. (Health and Human Services Study: http://goo.gl/8o5Ve) Thus when they over indulge in alcohol, it’s not because they don’t care about the consequences, it’s because they can’t even conceive of the consequences.
If a young adult is going to have alcohol, it should be in a controlled environment monitored by a “responsible” adult (which may not necessarily be their parent).
August 20th, 2012 at 8:04 pm
lets not forget the definition of a moron!
or wisdom from the wizard of oz! ain’t no way, ain’t no how!
bb
August 21st, 2012 at 7:19 am
I occasionally had a glass of wine when having Thanksgiving/Christmas/Easter dinner growing up, once they determined I was old enough. It was no big deal, and I agree that some controlled, supervised exposure when people are young can take the mystique away and keep them from going off the deep end later on.
August 21st, 2012 at 4:39 pm
I agree with most of the comments here. Being raised in Canada and starting to drink socially (even before 18 yrs old) I see no harm in allowing kids over 17 or 18 to drink in a controlled environment (family basement, nobody leaves, everyone sleeps over, no driving, no walking home, no binge drinking, no sex games, no spin the bottle).
Speaking to the teens about the house rules and concequences of thier drinking does wonders to teach them how to safely and responsibly handle themselves when they do get the opportunity to drink in the future.
The alternative is that they will start partying while a freshman in College at 18 or 19 yrs old. They may not get these lessons while away at college, and certainly wont have the same safe environment.
Don’t kid yourself about “your kid” not drinking while at college. Simply look at survey results and find out that by sophmore year 80%-90% call themselves “partiers”, “regular drinkers” or “heavy drinkers”.
I would rather my daughter know her limits and what alcohol does to her body before she wakes up one morning at a frat house party with no memory of what hapenned the night before and no panties.
August 21st, 2012 at 9:45 pm
My parents did not have alcohol in the house when I was growing up (both were problem drinkers when I was very young) and there was no talk of allowing me to drink before I was 21. I think my dad would have had a stroke laughing if I would have asked if I could have a beer. Frankly, it wasn’t really something that interested me when I was 16-17. None of my friends drank and very few members of my extended family drank at family functions (very strange for people of German-Irish heritage), so it was pretty much a non-issue growing up.
When I got to college, I went to a private school that was a “dry” campus (depending on your R.A.), but it was college, so, you know…Anyway, again, I fell in with a group that knew how to have a good time, but limited the fun to weekends and knew how to drink safely (no one drove anywhere and one person in our group wasn’t really a big drinker, so would make sure none of us passed out on our backs, etc). They all grew up in small towns where keggers were de rigeur and the whole thing was demystified for them.
Would I let my kids drink underage and in my house? Probably not. I don’t think there’s any reason for a kid to drink alcohol in order to learn responsibility when the time comes when they’re of age. I’m of the incredibly nerdy camp that will probably bore her kids silly with “talks.” I do think 18 year olds should be able to drink, though. If they’re old enough to vote and kill people in Iraq, they should be able to order a double whiskey on the rocks.
August 22nd, 2012 at 10:54 am
I didn’t really grow up around alcohol and only got “the talks” when I got to be 13/14 years old. My experience was that I didn’t try a beer until I was 17 and I didn’t dare tell my mom about the fact that I had one. She threw a fit when my aunt came to visit and let me drink a beer on the front steps of the house. With me, it was fine. I never really got into trouble with it while I was under 21, but after 21 I went fucking crazy for a few years.
My little brother was a different story. He drank throughout high school and hid it from my mom mostly successfully. He still struggles with moderation and has mostly just stopped drinking in general because he can’t control it. I attribute at least some of this with the fact that he had to hide it and couldn’t have an honest conversation with my parents about drinking.
I’ll likely let my kid have a beer with me when he gets old enough (16). It shouldn’t be a secretive society thing.