What the Parents Say …
“There were plenty of college parties and nickel beer nights in the campus pub when I was 18 and it was legal to drink alcohol. Sure kids passed out, blacked out, and there were lots of hangovers. Fortunately there were no deaths or visits to the hospital. So what was protecting us? Was it because it was legal to drink? The unfortunate situation today is that kids are drinking differently. Perhaps it's because it is illegal. But by lowering the drinking age, will we be worse off because kids are accustomed to binge drinking? Another issue is stress. When I was growing up, we didn't have the kind of stress kids are dealing with today. So why are so many teenagers stressed to succeed academically and athletically? And is it this stress that leads them to drink to excess? All of these questions should be asked and students should be a big part of the discussion because I truly believe they hold the answers...”
Heidi K., mother of two teen girls, 14 and 17
“I think the drinking age should be changed to 18 with a twist. Don’t tell the kids! I know this is impossible, however, isn’t part of the fun of drinking doing something behind your parents’ back? On that note, being a college student gives them enough freedom and entirely way too much time to rebel, get angry, change the world (hopefully), and all of those other rites of passage that everyone must go through. If the drinking age was changed to 18, colleges could better control drinking and driving. Zero tolerance means expulsion from school in many cases. The thought that a 19- or 20-year-old could lose a scholarship or get thrown out of school for underage drinking is tough to hear. Many universities are asking for changes so that pubs can be back on campuses. I tend to agree.”
Ellen T., mother of two teen sons, ages 16 and 11
“While sitting at my kitchen counter with friends as my husband poured his famous Cosmo's into chilled glasses … I blinked twice as I saw my friend, Theresa, hand her 19-year-old daughter a drink of her own. My first reaction was to yell, "Hey, she's underage!" Theresa calmly answered, "Weren't we drinking at that age? And besides, the more you make something taboo, the more kids will go after it. At least I know my daughter won't walk into a college party and be drunk in the first five minutes because she doesn't know how to handle liquor." Did she sway me towards lowering the legal drinking age? I think so. She certainly affected the way I talk with my girls about drinking.”
Monica P., mother of two teens, ages 17 and 13
"I was in the last class that could legally drink in college. During this time, I witnessed a major change in campus culture. What was once a casual part of the school at pubs, fraternities, and even the downtown bar, was now happening behind closed doors. In the classes following mine, drinking was forced underground, which brought more dire consequences. I am a firm believer in wise freedom, and college is a time when young adults experiment and learn how to be responsible adults. I am in favor of lowering the drinking age, allowing our young adults to learn how to drink responsibly, learning from their mistakes, and taking the consequences for excessive drinking, but not for the beer in the school pub after a hard night of studying.”
Judy K., mother of children ages 8, 10, and 14
Tracey Adamowski, IA 10/08/08
I do not think that binge drinking has anything to do with the drinking age, but rather with many other ills in our culture - too much stress/pressure, lack of family time (and not driving from one activiity to another, but rather real, quality time), bad examples set by adults using alcohol and media examples of poor choices with positive rewards to the characters or stars, etc... How about college's doing more to provide non-alcohol events - starting with "tailgating". If that shocks you then I would say that is EXACTLY what I mean about this being a cultural problem!
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