Aussie Aussie Aussie

I was looking for my next story and came across this title:

Many Parents Encourage Underage Drinking, Australian Study Finds

I knew I should've went to Australia for a semester. The first line of the article states that HALF the adults in Australia believe 15- to 17-year-olds should be allowed to drink alcohol - as long as they're at home, under parental supervision. Oh to be 16 again, in Australia.

In my opinion, I think Australia has really got something here. I believe that as long as teenagers are in a safe environment, it's alright to introduce them to alcohol - better at home then the kegger across town. And let's face it, a good number of teenagers are at that kegger, whether parents like it or not. I'm young, so of course I'm bias, but I think I would have rather had my parents given me my first drink then find out about my late-night debacles by hosing off my dinner from the driveway. I think Australian parents are taking the proactive approach of teaching their children about alcohol according to their terms. Teenagers learn by example, and weren't all parents in their shoes at one point? The only problem I foresee is that I don't really know how easy the plan would be to implement. Would they establish a law that allows teenagers to drink under certain conditions? And if so, how would they enforce those conditions?

If you do read the article, it is blatantly obvious that the writer takes the opposing view, stating that drinking at a young age increases the risk of "long-term alcohol related health problems" and can "disturb a wide range of key brain functions." Of course, I completely understand the concern since teenagers are still growing and their bodies are still developing, but has no one learned yet that prohibiting a teenager from doing something makes it that much more alluring to them. They are still children after all.

The article goes on to emphasize alcohol education, which I believe is a very positive step, since most educational programs in school focus on drug use - most people tend to forget that alcohol is a drug due to its prevalence in everyday life. The only problem that I have with the article is that they refuse to acknowledge the fact that thousands of teenagers are already drinking behind closed doors, or have at least tried it, and this will keep happening no matter what the government does. Adults need to just face the facts and try to be more proactive in their children's lives and less reprimanding.