Alcohol Use
As I was writing my English essay I came to realize that an estimated 14.4 million Americans ages 12 and older have experience the use of alcohol in the past year. I think it's kind of crazy that anyone would even let a 12 year old drink alcohol. They're only in middle school, and their brain is still growing. With a young kid starting to drink at such a young age they could have a very rough and unhealthy life to deal with probably before they're even out of high school. Underage drinking doesn't affect me, but if someone's letting a 12 year old drink that has to stop cause they're most likely immature still at that age and don't even know what they're doing.
I also think it is disturbing that children of that age have had access to alcohol. I am not sure that you could say their parents allowed them to have it though. I am sure that in some instances parents let their child have some. I would think that other than that the adults were just careless about where they kept their alcohol or how they supervised them.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is necessarily that someone is letting such a young individual to consume alcohol. I think that the problem is how easy it is to access alcohol and get ahold of it. Underage drinking is very common and it comes along with many negative consequences and effects. The thought of a 12 year old having experience with alcohol is very bizarre, and others should be more aware of this.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the alcohol drinking age should be lower than 21, probably somewhere around 18, but I do not think anyone under the age of 16 should ever be experiencing alcohol use. The brain is still developing and drinking at young ages such as 12 through 15 is just absurd. As a parent, there should be no exceptions to let your kid drink at such a young age. I think if they were 18, then it should be acceptable to let them have a few just to experience it, but not at the age of 15, especially the age of 12.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree the drinking age should be lower than 21, since the brain is still developing in that time of adolescence. Scientists have proven the human brain reaches maturity at the ages of 21 -25, the ability to think about our needs and the needs of others increases. Escpecially at the age of 12, it's extremely dangerous for an individual to drink since alcohol specifically targets brain cells, and will cause memory loss. People should have more knowledge on the effects and consenquences of alcohol consumption.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree that the drinking age should not be lowered. This idea could be backed up by the Nemours studies done showing that the brain is still developing till around age 21. If a teen is to underage drinking on a regular basis shows that it can stunt the growth of the most important part of the human body. I cant see how any parent in there right mind would let their 12 year old consume alcohol.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree, the drinking age should be lower. Alcohol isn't necessarily bad for your body unless it is abused. The only way you will be seeing health risks is with excessive consumption. One could argue that is the case with anything, coffee, energy drinks, all only do significant damage when overused. In lots of other countries with a lower drinking age, they have notably lower rates of alcohol abuse. Including it with regular drinks could take away the "fun" with drinking. The human desire to rebel is a strong force and the best way to fight this is to not implement strict rules that restrict their actions.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the the legal drinking age should be lower than 21 just because in Italy that is how it is and they have much fewer drinking problems than we do here in the US simply because started younger gives you more experience and time to learn how to handle yourself. Also by lowering the age some wouldn't even have a license reducing the numbers of drinking and driving.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to appear that the less regulations there is on something, the less likely people will abuse the power. I agree with the drinking age should be lowered to at least 18. If 18 year olds are capable of having access to tobacco products, then how is that different than alcohol?
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