| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/26/2008 7:32:32 AM | In my view YES! Look at the young girls drinking that soda pop laced with vodka.....they can hardly taste the vodka so down it goes.
A lot of youngens can get into clubs because they look 18+, but that 3 years difference can make a huge difference.
Take a look at Australia Day and look at the 15/16 years old's roaming around off thier faces on grog. Add 3 years and you will have a slightly more matured 'underaged' group.
Look at our road fatalities when it comes to alcohol consumption.
So the question must be asked.....Should the authorities raise the drinking age to 21? | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/26/2008 7:46:01 AM | There is no doubt that teenagers drinking is a big concern. It seems as if this generation are expecting to start drinking four or five years younger than we did 20 years ago.
I just dont think that changing the legal age limit will have any effect. They're drinking under age already.
My kids are 13 and 15 and they're seeing peers all around them drinking heavily at parties/weekends. Its a big concern to me because its so prevalent. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/26/2008 8:06:26 AM | I'd instinctively say yes to the 21 years thing as it's what I grew up with.
At the end of the day, though, I think it's going to come down to a parenting issue if my teenagers were drunk on the streets, so to speak.
I'm probably more concerned about recent findings of adverse effects on a still growing brain than anything else, but I fully expect we'll see some more science refuting just that in another year or two. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/26/2008 8:09:53 AM | A friend of mine 'allows' her daughter to drink at parties.....the child is 12!..... Add those 3 extra years and then the child would be 15.....still too young, however a little more mature. Still not old enough to handle the grog but still 3 years older!
Honestly the worst thing I experienced on Australia Day was a two year old child being struck in the head by a bottle thrown by a young person (about 14 years of age) extremely off their face on grog who didn't even know what they had done and for that matter didn't give a crap.
The child was raced off to hospital by ambulance.....not that he noticed.
Point is that if the drinking age was 21, then that leaves a gap in which to start drinking.....maybe 17/18 NOT 12/13! | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/26/2008 9:07:53 AM | The legislation in force which punishes drink driving and other crimes implicated with excessive alchohol consumption already has some quite harsh penalties attached, especially where driving is concerned.
As for raising the drinking age to 21, this probably won't have much of an impact on the problems of excess alcohol consumption and its negative side-effects. So long as binge drinking remains socially acceptable, teenagers will find other ways to obtain and consume alcohol.
I think the laws as they presently stand, are tight enough, and should only be further tightened if there is good evidence to suggest that raising the drinking age would have a positive effect in terms of reducing alcohol abuse among teens and young people. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/26/2008 9:37:12 AM | Not sure, it’s a hardy.
It’s 18 to vote, to go to war and die or to be judged, sentenced and gaoled for criminal offences. The age of consent is 16 for girls and 18 for boys. These issues would also have to be re-visited in any moves back to the 21 barrier rule.
I agree with your point on the motor vehicle accident record. It does seem to be worse now than what it was in my days but then everything has changed. Modern cars are a lot faster and cheaper than they were in my days. My first car was a Holden HT panel van with a red 186 donk, bucket seats and 3 on the column and that’s all it had. The heater and radio/cassette were options that I had to purchase from wrecker yards and install myself. Aircon, good grief only rich people had that! If you put your foot to the floor it would stall, not spin the wheels like any modern car does. A tradesman averaged around $60.00 a week, about $3,000.00 a year. My 17 year old nephew gets $1,000.00 a week as a first year apprentice electrician and his equivalents in the office jobs aren’t that far behind.
Many of the things I wished for and had to wait and save for, come really easy for present day kids. It’s a generational change, material wealth is easier nowadays and they want it all now. Discipline is a lot laxer now than before with the new generation being spoilt rotten.
The kids also come under a lot of pressure from the TV and movies. American culture is a huge influence, they see it, think that’s “cool” attempt to emulate and end up wrapped around a tree or other immovable object.
They also seem to have dumbed down, more ignorant, something to do with their education perhaps?
I dunno; maybe address some other thing to improve the kid’s lot before bringing back the 21 barrier rule. Societies should always advance forward not return to old ways but if there’s no other possible thing that can be done, then maybe re-visit the 21 rule. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/26/2008 10:20:02 AM | | Kids are growing up so soon in all the wrong ways these days. Get rid of that afro american gangsta crap music, find some hobbies instead of listening to music and humping each other. Go and build a friggin billy cart or something. Some parents need a bigger boot up the arse than their kids could ever possibly benefit from. They buy their 14 year old kids passion pop, so they can drink with their brain injured friends at home and listen to brain dead music turned up to 11 to annoy the #%$ &*#@% out of their neighbors. Raise the age to 21, drive it all underground, let them go and hide in the park under an acacia bush and get off their faces out of the public eye. At least we won't have to listen or see children getting drunk (Let me type that again to make sure it's fair dinkum.."children getting drunk?!") Like it's their right as someone who has never held down a job, payed any taxes or even rent... If they get caught, throw the book at their parents | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/26/2008 5:49:47 PM | It's not a legal issue, it's a social issue. Making it over 21 would just mean more underaged binge drinkers. The drinking wouldn't be reduced by much as a vast amount of the drinking occurs at home parties, etc. The only thing you'd really do is increase the average age at clubs and bars, and reduce the number of complete jerks there, and the quickly trashed 18 or 19 year old girls. So publicans would oppose it, because that's a large part of their profits.
In any case, the problem isn't the legal age. It's the culture that says drinking = getting smashed. It's the binge drinking. It's the things people drink to deliberately get as drunk as possible asap. It's the getting drunk every weekend. Until we change that culture, that attitude, the drinking age is irrelevant. And if we do change that culture... the drinking age is irrelevant. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/26/2008 6:23:34 PM | it also has a lot to do with the parenting. do you know where your child is on a saturday night, do you insist on taking them, picking them up, checking that they are at kate's house. imposing curfews, checking details, putting yourself in the care zone instead of the "oh great I have a night off zone".
do you allow alcohol to be drunk in your home by teenagers, do you allow them to see you drinking alcohol and getting drunk? it is more about responsible parenting and adult interaction with these teenagers than changing any legal age in regard to consuming alcohol.
i know my son drinks (but he doesnt live with me, but I still check up on him) and my daughter has no interest in alcohol. it would be a rare time that she would even have 1 can of anything and at 19 is more likely to be found sitting at home with me on a saturday night than out at a night club getting smashed.
so i dont think you can blame kids entirely, parents have a lot to answer for in regards to how much leash you are giving these kids. take an interest and enforce some rules and regulations and you might just be surprised! kids actually look for parents to be responsible and set rules and boundaries. then they dont have to make the decision for themselves, they can say "oh i cant be out late tonight, mum wants me home at 11.00pm" gets them off the hook in regards to any peer group pressure i think. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/26/2008 7:54:00 PM | think we should raise the age for cigerettes to 75 year old
and drinking age to 35 (which happens to be my age)
but in all honesty you can raise the age to what ever you like, it wont make a difference.
can remember drinking rocket fuels on the beach when i was 15 after all the local kids raided there mum n dads liquor cabnets.
MMMmm alcohol, teens age drinking and the ocean.. its a wonder i made to adulthood at all. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/26/2008 9:05:15 PM | My opinion based on my own growing up.... drinking and all has to do with the child's personality, family influence and also peer group pressure...
I am not sure how exactly the combination works but it does affect the person choice.
In US drinking age differs from state to state... 18 - 25..
although drinking age might not stop a you person going to parents cabinet or friend's parents cabinet but at least gives less of chance to make it available as freely....
Also sometimes I am against and for educating the kids .... education may at times give those children an idea of wanting to explore too.
Best start I think is increasing the age limits. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/26/2008 9:50:40 PM | Personally i do not believe lifting the age limit will actually achieve anything. Currently you have children drinking and there is no real penalty of consequence for their actions..The interesting thing in todays modern age is that the fear of consequence and taking responsibility for your actions has been ignored by a lot of governments and the snivel libertarian groups..I did drink from age of 15 myself but it was also semi controlled as you were always looking over you shoulder in case you were caught as there were serious penalties and repercussions for your actions...I find it amazing that they do not want underage people to drink or smoke yet they do nothing to place a fear factor of action against them ..It is stupid when a shopkeeper or a pub can get fined something like 20 times what a child will who is actually consuming the product yet they are usually free from any repurcussions..Not all children look like they are children...Unfortunately it isnt only the drinking and the smoking that is the issue these days it is a general rule across the board that they can do anything they want and will get nothing for it as they are a minor...Once upon a time the rules you were taught at home were the same ones you saw at school and everywhere else so there was consistency across the board...It isnt like that these days where any teacher or another adult can throw any scatterbrained ideas at our children and half the time we are not even aware of it..... Discipline is always a requirement for everyone...pity half our children theses days do not even know what it means...
I saw a great comment the other day in one of the forums but i cannot remember which one...it summed up the stupidity of our snivel libertarians and other dipsticks that always wanna change stuff.....""".if we hand out free dope and needles for druggies does that mean we are going to build an extra lane on all our roads so we can have a lane for drink drivers"""......cheerz
cheerz all be safe and be well | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/27/2008 1:28:24 AM | Some very interesting points have been made and it's a breath of fresh air to see that people do take the drinking debate seriously as it is a serious issue.
I do agree that 'good parenting' is important and parents who drink constantly around their children is not such a good thing.
Personally I would like to see these lollie water, vodka induced drinks banned. It's only a matter of time before a young child picks one up thinking it's a cool drink. Sure watch our children but it's not possible to do that 24/7.
Thanks everyone for your opinions. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/27/2008 2:35:44 AM | Ahh, but then remember when we were teriffied of a clip in the ear?? I remember all the sneaking around I did to smoke, drink etc. Now we have parents buying their kids the alcohol 'Cos they're just gonna go behind my back anyway'. Buying alcohol for a child is condoning them drinking!!
What I think we need to look at more so than the legal age to drink is the legal age to drive. Kids are showing us they aren't responsible or mature enough not to drink until they're 18 (as the law states) so in return we buy themn a $40,000 car for their 16th birthday....
We also encourage them not to pursue education by offering them $5000 to have a baby, or bridging courses. You don't want to stay at school?? Great, go to this bridging course for 10 hrs a week so you can drop out of most of your studies and limit your options. Next thing you know they'll be advertising parties on myspace and making guest appearances on Big Brother.
Raising the legal age to drink may not make a difference but if it sends a message, maybe it will be worthwhile. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/27/2008 4:35:41 AM | Well said Aussie Chic.....Perhaps if the driving age was put up along with the drinking age then we all may have a better chance at survival.
I know this new tax on spirits at the pubs is hurting my son.....he has slowed his binges right down.
I guess another thing to look at would be the increase in drug administrating. If we remove the alcohol from the youngins will they then turn to pot smoking in order to get their kicks? | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/27/2008 5:01:23 AM | I have to agree with WG.
Its not an age problem - its a cultural problem.
I grew up in Europe where a 12 year old can have some wine when eating out in public with parents.
Beer, wine and spirits where and still are available in supermarkets and i have never been drunk in all my life.
We learned to respect alcohol.
I Australia young kids seem to think that getting plastered every chance they get is cool.
Following in somebodies footsteps ? | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/27/2008 5:37:24 AM | Your rationale to me indicates that perhaps there should be intellectual means testing before opinions can be offered in Australia, but the drinking age is just fine.
I should write that down, it was not bad at all for late on a Tuesday. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/27/2008 5:41:02 AM | Well put Kobalt and WG.
It is a cultural thing, it's such a shame we are still seen as a country of boozers.
It seems that with a lot of kids drinking is seen as the activity rather than something to enhance the activity. A couple of drinks while having a game of cards or a friendly game of cricket is fine but drinking with the sole purpose of getting smashed is stupid and often a waste of a night.
All of my adult kids have drunk too much at sometime but even my 18 year old son has realised that it's much more fun to drink slowly and make the night last now.
As for the increased tax on pre-mixed drinks, I see sales of breezers etc have gone down but bottled spirits sales have gone up, so kids are mixing their own, that's gotta be more dangerous. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/27/2008 6:01:06 AM | Some brilliant posts here - White Gold, Kobalt, Julian, but especially Gee
At the end of the day, if kids are under age drinking- ....then hello I believe this is the responsibility of the parents, sure Im not a parent so yes I appreciate I dont know how hard it must be to instill this into kids, but sorry thats one of the many thankless tasks you take on when you decide to be a parent, that you are also have to be the big bad mean law maker and the person who sets boundaries and acts like the parent not their friend and shows them true responsibility....Like Gee said, it does start with the parents/home enviroment...sure you cant police them all the time...god they are kids and we were once their age and snuck a drink too, but thats the point, we snuck a drink...not binging like the kids of today do.
I have a friend whose 15 year old son goes on a bender most weekends....I love his mother, but she also goes on a bender each weekend...she sees no probs with this for either her or her son....she tells me that his stressed being in Year 11.....I told her his got a shit load of stress ahead of him and alcohol is not the answer !!! but in her eyes it is for her so is for him....how sad.
Raising the age, will make no difference...kids under 18 get alcohol now..it wont be any different if the age is raised to 21..they will still get hold of it thru various means.....it has to start with manufacturers and the ad agencies to promote the dangers of alcohol and binging and promote sensible drinking......but at the end of the day, the real question/s that need to be asked is this...............why are our kids doing this ?, is life that terrible that they have to completely rite themselves off each weekend....we need to look at why this is happening...how to address it as parents, teachers and members of the community......boredom, unhappy home life, peer pressure, school issues.....why are they doing this ? God they are so young, they have no idea what real pressures lay ahead of them....then they really will need a drink...and not one of those lolly waters...... | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/27/2008 8:21:26 AM |
Some brilliant posts here - White Gold, Kobalt, Julian, but especially Gee for the rest of you, your post were crap... try again
I agree with most of what been said already. For me, the main points are *more parental control & taking responsibility & an interest in what your children are doing (at any age). *Governments being more strict on the type of alcoholic drinks that are produced & marketed towards younger drinkers. *And an effort to shift the culture of (binge) drinking as seen on Australia day & Schoolies Week | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 5/27/2008 5:05:49 PM | Absolutley. but the real problem lies with our media and the promotion of binge drinking. Has anyone else seen those shirts made in kids sizes by VB and Bundy Rum? Ban the sale of booze from sporting venues and you will see a slight improvement but there are so many areas we need to address as a society.
Sadly while the money roles in for the companies and government there will be no change. It will only get worse. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 7/8/2008 4:17:41 AM | Raised to 21? Absolutely! When I was 18, I was living in Texas when they dropped the legal age to 18... What a disaster it was (Much like we have here now) Then someone got the bright idea to raise it to 19... Didn't change much. Things finally leveled out when it was changed back to 21. I happened to be in those age groups during the changes, but during this time I saw a lot of good kids get stupid and ruin their lives or somone elses. If alcohol can make an adult act like a kid, what do you think it does to a kid?   I say change it, after a few years of belly-aching about it they'll get over it and the retailers will figure out ways to sqeeze their income out of the 21+ group. Yes, I would gladly pay a higher price for my drinks!  | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 7/8/2008 4:36:20 AM | Raising the drinking age to 21 will probably have as much impact as the added 30% tax on pre-mix alcohol (dam them binge drinkers). The 'binge drinkers' just go and buy the bottles of alcohol and mix it even stronger than the pre-mix. Or they buy cheap wine, or drugs.....the only people getting hurt with this tax is us 'oldies' who love our drink and drink responsibly (well sometimes )
I have two boys , yes over 18 and yes they drink. Do the binge drink? No, only friday nights and only if a major football event was on (like state of origin or grand final). Would they be happy if the drinking age was 21? Hell no, the 19 year old would be majorly pi$$ed. Yes the both work fulltime and own cars, pay their own bills etc.
Raising the drinking age would only be hiding the real issue........like education and more parental control. | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 7/8/2008 4:56:20 AM | Like many others, I believe it is parenting to a degree.
I very rarely drink, and very rarely have alcohol in the house, which may have some influence as well.
I do allow my daughter to drink if she is going to a party.
She has a couple of drinks and is happy to stay at that level.
For a while, I didn't allow her to go to these parties. It had to be seen as a priviledge and not a given. When I finally did allow her to go, I impressed the trust thing on her. She saw her peers drunk and on drugs and wasn't too impressed.
Normally she'll take a six or four pack and bring half of them home.
While she knows that if she abuses the trust she won't be going to anymore parties, she also is quite happy herself to just have a couple. I can take responsibility for the "banning of future parties" bit, but she can claim responsibility for the sensible attitude to it.
Just my 2 cents | |
|
| Should the drinking age be raised to 21 in Australia?
Posted: 7/8/2008 4:57:29 AM | | I think that going out of your way to reduce teenage consumption of alcohol would be a great idea because as i understand it, the human brain is still developing into a persons twenties, especially boys. I think they were saying that this is when alcohol and other drugs can do the most damage to the brain, less so when fully developed. I think it is important for parents to make sure there kids drink responsibly even if they can't stop them through education and limits. | |
|
Home
login 
