I allow my 12 YO son a sip or two of new wines or brews I bring into the house...under my supervision of course. Thanks to a wine & viticulture class I'm taking for fun this semester, I've been bringing home a bottle or two every couple of weeks.
He's seen the problems created by his older siblings when they've had too much to drink, so I think he'll be more responsible when he's older.
My attitude towards the drinking age is simple: if you can enlist in the Army at 18, you should be able to have an adult beverage in public.
The current laws contribute to the prolonged adolescence of young adults today.
The current laws contribute to the prolonged adolescence of young adults today.
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I agree. And I am convinced that the prohibition on buying cigarettes under the age of 18 was deliberately put into place to encourage teen smoking as an act of rebellion and was done at the instigation of the tobacco companies.
I have no proof, and I can cite no data, but it really seems to have followed this pattern. Around the time that those laws were passed, smoking had become socially unacceptable, and teens were not picking up the habit. Cigarette manufacturers were in danger of losing customers. Then came the prohibition, and teen smoking numbers increased.