The legal drinking age for the U.S. should be lowered if the situation is being supervised in certain environments. Many drink underage to "rebel" against society norms so lowering the age would not call for such rebellion. Binge drinking would not take place if environment is being supervised.
The legal drinking age is currently twenty-one. If we were to lower this age limit, the author states " young adults allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs".
I agree and don't think it is any different than teaching young adults how to have safe sex if they choose to have sex. If someone is going to choose to drink at 18, 19, or 20 or 40 for that matter they should be held responsibile for their actions at any age. Why do the laws say purport that a person is an adult at age 18, can drive at age 16, but can't drink until 21? I think it's hypocritical to say someone is an adult at age 18 BUT, you can't drink until your 21.
(CBS) Last fall, a group of over 100 college presidents - including the heads of Dartmouth, Virginia Tech and Duke - signed a declaration stating that the 21-year-old drinking age is not working, and fireworks went off. But the college presidents got what they wanted: a national debate about the drinking age.
It has been brought up by college presidents to lower the drinking age. They believe that just because the law is a failure they should automatically change it for teens who want to drink. You can't stop teens from drinking, and even if you lower the age they will still get in wrecks.
While there are some movements trying to lower the drinking age to 18 due to they see it as another way to prevent underage binge drinking and learning more about the responsibility of drinking. this article explains how the freedom of drinking should still be limited.
Some parents have the idea that allowing their teenagers and friends to drink in their private homes as opposed to attending unsupervised parties is a safer alternative. However, adults can end up legally liable or even in jail for supplying alcohol to other people's children.
There are 31 states that allow parents or guardians to give alcohol to minors, only 7 of those restrict it to a private residence. Even in countries where there is not minimum drinking age and it is customary for teens to drink during meals or religious ceremonies with their parents, there is still an observable incidence of intoxication and binge drinking.
This article discusses the parental dilemma of whether or not to allow kids to drink before the legal age of 21. It poses question if the kids are going to experiment with alcohol anyway, should parents forbid it, allow it, or supervise it?
A group named Choose Responsibly headed by John McCardell Jr. the former head of Middlebury College, is arguing that the legal age for alcohol should be lowered to 18. While the group backs its claims on unsupported data but, the issue still remains that if you are considered an adult at 18 you should be considered adult enough to drink.