h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hmm, perhaps not in this country, as the drinking age at home is 5 so there is little problem, but mayb in the US where it is a hard line 21.

The laws here in the US really suck. I'm 14 and I've never been *really* drunk. However, I have had wine with my parents a few times and some weird mixer at a party (not with my parents) which seriously screwed me up and made me vow never to take drinks from Allison again...

But it's just sad that parents who do not actively prevent their children from touching alcohol can be taken in on child neglect. Having a beer with your 17-year-old kid CAN land you in jail. It's all part of the "crack down on underage drinking" campaign, although you'd think that it would be a BAD idea to keep kids far away from alcohol until their 21st birthday, at which point you let them loose... Not to imply that the laws are at all effective.

In my health class we're doing a chapter on alcohol, and not once is moderation mentioned. A question on our end-of-chapter test was, (and I'm not exaggerating), "How is completely abstaining from alcohol the only healthy choice?" There was not even a word about 'waiting until you're older', which I usually find patronizing but at least better than painting all sorts of drinks in a totally bad light. Most publishing companies have a set of federal guidelines for this sort of thing which don't allow them to say anything that could be construed as condoning drinking in any way, shape, or form.

All in all, the mindset is prehistoric.