no alcohol for under 15s

[southeastastra]

link bloody good idea imo. and i agree with bloke on tv who thinks it should be under 18s.

absolutely ridiculous idea, as a boy was saying onthe radio earlier, the ones at house parties passed out in the corners are the ones that were never allowed to drink!

if it were illegal for under 18s, they'd be no pissing up at all at the park.

sure most middle class parents are very sensible when it comes to drinking. i'm worried about the knife culture around atm. mostly caused by drink.

So no more Christmas pudding and brandy butter? A criminal offence to let your 14yo take the cherry liqueur chocolate? And what about Holy Communion?

When I was in my teens I was given alcohol every few weeks by the local vicar. It is part of mainstream Christian religion. It has had no effect on my subsequent attitude towards alcohol.

While I certainly don't approve of young people drinking, as in getting wasted, I think a blanket ban of no alcohol is just plain silly.

southeastastra on Thu 29-Jan-09 09:20:03
"if it were illegal for under 18s, they'd be no pissing up at all at the park.

sure most middle class parents are very sensible when it comes to drinking. i'm worried about the knife culture around atm. mostly caused by drink. "

Can't you see that you are contradicting yourself. Carrying a knife is illegal; yet you have well-founded concerns about the current knife culture. So how would making alcohol illegal for under-18s stop teens getting pissed in the park?

All it would do is to make things difficult for those parents who are more responsible and would like alcohol to be seen as part of restrained and controlled socialising.

Its another thing where they bash everyone because they don't have the balls/time/resources to deal with the real problem.

The law worrying about whether my DS1 (15)has wine at sunday lunch or a glass of champagne when he won a school prize is fucking nonsense when I can't sleep some evenings because teenagers are getting shit faced and beating the crap out of each other in the park behind my home.
Wankers

I don't see it'd make much of a difference to be honest if they made it illegal or not isn't going to change how people behave in their own homes.

This isn't a proposed law.

As Liam Donaldson said "It is advice to parents. It's their choice at the end of the day within the family setting," he said.

So rather a non-story, then.

I think it is stupid.
I would much prefer ds to have a drink at home under adult supervision.(so far he has shown no interest)
if it is such a health risk, why have people like the french been doing it for years?

why don't the goverment sort the real problem, like where are the drunken yobs getting their acohol from.

why do peopl make crap statements like......... "sure most middle class parents are very sensible when it comes to drinking"

I've noticed when this is in the press, all the statistics on teenage drinking are always crapply thought out and sensationalist - they're always based on a really wide age group and say things like "50% of 9-17 year olds get drunk regularly" without addressing the fact that a 9 year old and a 17 year old are totally different situations!

if it were illegal for under 18s, they'd be no pissing up at all at the park.>>

If only the world worked like that

The new law is a daft idea. Anyway they should be looking closer to home. Making it illegal for the government to take bribes and bringing in a new charge of being incompetent in charge of a country.

It's ridiculous and unpoliceable. Nothing would change about kids getting pissed up at the parks either, it's already illegal for them to do that.

There was no alcohol in my home growing up, I have always struggled with moderation on that front, DP was allowed a shandy or a spritzer on special occasions and rarely drinks more than 3 or 4 beers in a sitting.

If children are taught that whilst alcohol can be enjoyable, it is something that needs to be enjoyed responsibly then we wouldn't have half as many problems with alcohol. I think part of this includes introducing them to alcohol slowly, before their friends do.

The Communion thing will be amusing and proves that one one gave the implications a moments thought. It just seemed like a good idea.

Oh I'd love to see them marching into church, confiscating the wine, and arresting the Vicar

We give dd (9) a tiny amount of wine with Sunday lunch on condition that she has a large glass of water as well. Alcohol is always paired with water for her.

Anyway, it's not a law, it's more of that bloody stupid 'advice' they come out with when they can't think of anything else to do.

Unenforceable anyway.

Agree with Pagwatch and others. In observant Jewish families it's part of the culture to have a small glass of wine with food on various religious occasions from about high school age.I think it's a bit bonkers to prevent this sort of responsible introduction to alcohol.

Also it's not that the police don't care, it's that they have a ton of paperwork to do to even speak to people about 'crimes' like underage drinking and they have serious crimes to deal with.
Much easier/practical to let parents deal with bringing their children up themselves, which is their job after all. What more should a police officer do than confiscate the alcohol?

The problem is that when advice is so far from many people's idea of what 'ok' is, then it just gets ignored. And then a very important point, about the need to avoid children drinking to drunkenness, and drinking unsupervised, gets lost.
Personally I think drinking small amounts at home under supervision should start at around 12. (by 15 I was regularly going out to the pub on my own, if I hadn't had any experience of drink before that I wouldn't have known how to handle myself...)
I do think we have a problem with too much drink all round in our society. but I think this is just going to lead to parents feeling guilty and losing confidence in their own judgement.

I was allowed to drink at home from about 13, but didn't really like it. lol.

At about 15-17 i would have a few glasses of baccardi and coke at family parties, but never really got drunk.

iVE NOT DRANK SINCE!

dunno if mum letting me drink had anything to do with that, but I will be doing the same with my children.

I think forbidding something to a teenager is like a red rag to a bull!

Totally ridiculous idea, and if that's the best advice they can come up with, they should keep it to themselves.

It's just like the "pregnant = no alcohol" guidance - those who are sensible and moderate in their drinking, or allow their teen small amounts within the home, will be made to feel guilty. Those who binge drink in pregnancy, or give their teen a six-pack and send them to the park to get them out from under their feet, will ignore it and carry on.

I swear the problem is not so much alcohol as teenagers hanging about on street corners with nothing else to do. Alcohol is just a symptom of this - they're bored so they get pissed and then it all gets out of hand.

I know when I was 15 I did a school exchange to Germany. We were offered wine with meals, and beer when we went out (Quite an eye opener to me) The law though, stated that no-one under the age of 16 was allowed out after 9pm without being accompanied by a responsible adult. Hence, things were more family orientated and there were more youth clubs/sports activities laid on.

If you were caught hanging round street corners you were unceremoniously taken home.

I also agree that if you tell a teenager they cant do something at all they are likely to rebel and do it anyway.
My children are still quite young but Im already thinking about what is best to do. At the moment I think its best to introduce alcohol gradually in the home and teach them about sensible drinking.
I was never allowed to drink and had quite strict parents...I was smoking, drinking and staying out all night by about 13-14. I dont drink now though.
I have a friend who was allowed to drink at home on special occasions etc and he gets on so well with his parents and is sensible when it comes to a night out. He did drink when we were out and underage but was able to handle his drink alot better and I can never recall a time he was laid vomiting or a complete mess. To be honest I think he was more likely to have a few mates over his with a few beers when he was underage rather than wondering the streets, as long as the parents are in control of the situation I think I would prefer that than worrying about what they could possibly be doing in the streets still a very tough subject and Im glad I still have a few years before I have to worry bout it

I am a bit at the idea of giving a nine year old alcohol at home, even accompanied by water. I just don't see why you need to introduce alcohol to children that early. Sure, introducing teenagers to alcohol sensibly at home, is better than having them necking vodka down the park, but 15 seems like a perfectly reasonable age to start. Some people appear to believe that if they don't provide their children with alcohol at an early age - and I call 13 or 14 early - they are going to be off their face on cider with their mates at the first available opportunity and I just don't believe that.
I know lots of teens who don't drink at all - and I know several who have been allowed to drink at home from an early age and who are still drinking down the park with their friends - including one 13 year old daughter of a friend who had to be taken to hospital recently after getting pissed on vodka with her mates - her problem was lack of parental boundaries and discipline, not lack of opportuntiy to drink alcohol 'responsibly' at home - her parents are big advocates of that.