I found this thread interesting because our 21 year old, soon to be 22, has recently been carded several times when she ordered wine while dining with us (in Illinois, possibly while we were in Wisconsin and Minnesota but I don't specifically remember). I didn't realize there was anywhere in the US where she wouldn't be questioned because she was with her parents.

For what it's worth, anyone attempting to purchase beer in Tennessee must show ID, regardless of age. A new law passed by the General Assembly which went into law on July 1, requires all party stores and grocery stores to card EVERYONE. I was there over the weekend and was buying diet root beer. The cashier at a gas station attempted to card me (he appeared to be very new to the U.S.). When I asked him why, he pointed to the beer portion of the label. At that point his co-worker who was also apparently a relavtive explained that it was not alcohol that I was buying. Still, a weird experience!

Having a fake ID is now a felony. So these kids with the fake IDs, should not only be careful with their drinking, but they have to realize if they get caught with the fake ID, they can get into BIG trouble.

Most fake IDs look fake if they are compared to real ones.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20249460/

This story may be of interest.

Fred Grandy of WMAL's morning radio show in Washington DC admitted today that he serves wine in the home to his 18 year old daughter. Fire him or tar-and-feather him!

Seriously, Europeans are laughing at us for our Puritan 21 year old drinking age. As they should.

I also feel that it is a good idea to expose your kids to responsible drinking. My daughter knows that we enjoy wine with a nice dinner and when the wine is done we don't move on to tequila shots, at least not often.
I think kids that aren't exposed to at least some alchohol they get the idea that drinking is just to get drunk, not something to enjoy in moderation.

It has been proven that the younger a person is, the more likely to engage in "risky" behavior. Then add alchohol? Europe can laugh at us all they want...they have the same problems. In fact, in France they let kids age 16 drink, but they can't drive until 18! And even then, the test to get your license is much harder, and the penalties for DUI are much stiffer. Give those 16 year old french kids a license and a car and let me know how that works out.........

It comes down to parenting, like everything else.

*I meant to add...

We should have a license to raise children, since there's a license or an age requirement for just about everything else.

We should raise the driving age to 18 here. 16 are much less mature than in the past.
When you think about it at 18 you're old enough to enter into a marrige and raise children but not old enough to have a glass of wine with your family.
At 18 you're old enough to die for your country half way around the world but not old enough to have a beer with your friends before you ship off. Anybody else think this is strange?

We've had several excellent "think" pieces on this in our newspapers lately (IL). And it truly is a bigger issue here in the USA than in Europe, because of logistics.

The deaths are not from alcohol consumption but from the habit of driving AFTER alcohol consumption. And the number of death/accidents (both) goes up as the age goes down of the principles (driver/passenger) involved.

Legal or not, alcohol influenced driving is killing a whole lot of 16 to 19 year olds with a lot of futures over in seconds, after some bad "minor" decisions/choices made. Our greeting/meeting places here (USA) & activities are far apart in distance much of the time.

The articles (newspaper) investigate the same issues just raised in the former post. Voting, military service etc. And the conclusion is that the driving age must be raised.

Honestly, 18 IS like 16 used to be.

My parents always let us drink growing up, they were European immigrants to USA, and it didn't work with my brother at all. LOL!

JJ5, could it be because it is illegal for kids that age to drink? While I don't think 16 year olds should be allowed to drink, I think a responsible 18 year old could.
Because it's illegal they tend to binge drink while they have access to it. If 18 year olds were allowed to drink then a group of 18 year olds who go out for an evening would be more apt to appoint a DD just like other responsible adults do. They would probably drink less because it would be "no big deal" to have access to alcohol. This doesn't account for people who are predisposed to alcoholism. That is a whole other problem.

??

We are so much more in cars, that I doubt it would be better, if it were legal. It might even be worse, IMHO.

When it was legal in WI and illegal in IL in my youth years it was even more of a driving fiasco. I personally knew 2 girls who died, and 1 other that I know to this day, who was left crippled driving from one place to another in WI when it was 18. Group driving (all peers under 18) and drinking alcohol in these scenarios of distances are all problematic.

Because it's illegal they tend to binge drink while they have access to it. If 18 year olds were allowed to drink then a group of 18 year olds who go out for an evening would be more apt to appoint a DD just like other responsible adults do

I don't think this is necessarily a logical conclusion. If children are educated about drinking and driving, then they should (and often do) appoint a DD whether or not they are drinking legally. Making it legal to drink at age 18 (which was the legal drinking age in NY when I was in college) does not turn 18-year olds into "responsible adults".

If turning 18 doesn't make you a responsible adult than we should raise the age of consent for marriage and military service also. If you can't be trusted to drink in a responsible manner than why should you be able to make other big decisions. How old do you need to be to purchase a firearm?
I think the drinking and driving problem has more to do with the way we teach, or in some cases don't teach, our children about alcohol than anything else.

And yes I have firsthand experience with drunk driving deaths and in all the cases the families were very stict about alcohol and alcohol was thought of as something you only used to get drunk.

I agree with much of what many of you, especially JJ5, say. A big difference between Europe and America is spatial. A 17 year old French lad can amble down to the local bistro on foot and knock down a couple of glasses wine and return home safely. As a 16 year old American lad in suburban Maryland, a bunch of us guys would pile into a car with a case of beer and drive throughout the more rural areas of our county. One pub was within walking distance and that did not serve youths of our age.

I'm probably in the minority on this thread, but I'd rather err on the side of risk and freedom.

And I read "education" on this and just rather sigh. Because the wreck and evidence is constantly applied and demonstrated in all h.s. environs I know, and it's the same people who you view weeping on their peers shoulders at the service.

It's distance and not just what we "know". Wine, especially was a given in my neighborhood for all, and it was no different. Most of the kids now in 2007 have wine or beer drinking "practice" within their own homes absolutely. They aren't stupid, but they just want what they want. And what they want is to go out and have a good time independently and get home independently. And until you are older, for some reason, it's never going to happen to you, always to the other guy. Or girl.