college drinking
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college drinking
| Sat, 07-07-2007 - 10:42am |
I'm the Mom of an 18 year old transitioning to college searching for good suggestions for underage drinking consequences/punishment to be enforced at home....

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That's the way I was raised also. When we went on our class trip to Italy, I was 16. I had some drinks there but I didn't think it was any big deal. Some of the kids had never been allowed to drink and got very drunk. The same thing w/ college. It was legal but most of the time if there was a big party, all they would have to drink was beer, which I never liked, so I would bring my own can of diet soda. I really didn't care about drinking.
There is one college president who is campainging to bring the legal drinking age back to 18 because he says everyone is drinking anyway and that if it's not so underground, adults (older ones) would be better able to monitor it.
If it was legal, I really wouldn't care if my 18 yo DD drank, but now I have to worry about her being arrested for underage drinking. The big think I try to emphasize is don't drink and drive or get in a car w/ anyone who has been drinking. I will be so relieved when she is 21 and legal.
That is also the way I was raised, and the way DH and I have raised our kids.
Not only is it a throwback to puritanism and prohibition, but it's also a huge reaction to the baby boom generation IMO.
Don't speak too soon bunnierose. I actually read in article in a fairly high profile newspaper from a doctor proposing there be some sort of "fat tax" because overweight people with health problems cost our (free) health-care system too much money...
...someone proposes this kind of measure but then we turn around and they are removing funding from our schools for physical education programs...
I am feeling fairly flame retardent this am so here are my added 2 cents...I think that there is a general shift in delayed maturity and responsiblity since the drinking age went from 18 to 21. What I mean is, it used to be that the stupid, immature mistakes that many, many teens make and the proverbial "wild" stage now lingers through the 20's but by 21, our generation had it "out of our system."
I can see possibly having stopped when the interim age was 19 - it gets alcohal out of HS. But my overall feeling is that if you can vote and go to war to defend your country, you should be able to drink a beer!
Sharon
No flames from this direction Sharon.
Well, what we're telling DS17 who starts college (and turns 18) in August is that: 1) We pay for 4 yrs of college, no more; 2) he's an adult and can do as he chooses, but laws will be enforced; 3) he's unlucky, and if anyone gets caught, he will; 4) if he does not keep his grades up at MSU we know it will be because of too much partying; 5) if he cannot maintain a 3.0 (he graduated HS with a 3.8), he will come to live with us in VA and attend community college until he's ready to study.
We had DS24 sign a contract before he started college, and we'll do the same for DS17. I made it kind of fun, but serious at the same time. Spelled out his responsibilities for obeying the law, keeping in touch, maintaining his grades, paying bills, hours of studying, no cramming for exams, etc. Not sure if it helped, but it cannot hurt any.
At MSU's orientation a physician from the student health center shared some statistics from student surveys:
The avg. # of drinks in a night for those surveyed was 0-4. Students need to know not everyone binge drinks.
75% of students have sex, BUT 90% of those have just one partner. Students need to know that very few are "promiscuous". (Can't remember the condom-use stats, but the rate was lower than it should be.)
One mom asked, "If freshman are req'd to live in the dorms, exactly where are they having sex? It better not be in MY daughter's room. Aren't the RA's monitoring the students?"
Uh....exactly WHERE has she been hiding her head the past 30 years?
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http://www.pnhp.org/news/2009/october/meet_the_new_health_.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQTBYQlQ7yM
<Uh....exactly WHERE has she been hiding her head the past 30 years?>>
LOL, That's a good one!
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