Is it acceptable for a 16 year old to go out and get drunk on the street with his mates?

Question

What is your view on this? My son is 8 , I believe now I would lock him up and throw away the key if he did this. My friend argues if I don't let him he will rebel and do it anyway. I would have less of a problem him having an odd beer in the house or at a party (may be) but not in the street. I didn't drink when I was 16, I was no angel but if I say yeh go ahead what kind of parent would I be. I have 8 years to sort this one out.

ARE YOU 16, DO YOU DRINK ON THE STREET & WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK . LET ME KNOW so I can balance this one! Would you rather drink at home or would that not be kool?

Alberto I dread the thought of a court appearance - I am off to by the lock for his bedroom door and his window. I won't let him out until he is at least 40! He a good lad I just wan't to keep him that way!

Just wanted to say my son at present has never showed an interest or asked about alcohol.

Answer 1

My mother wisely thought it best for me to drink in safety in people's homes. I don't think she approved as much as put up with it. If I ever have any of my own, I hope I can have a good balance going as you are looking for.

I do agree he will rebel and do it anyway. If you can tell him to simply not get in trouble and keep communication open that will do more good than anything, I think. I could talk to my mum about anything from sex to anything else that I had to deal with.

--That Cheeky Lad

Answer 2

im 16 and made the concious choice years ago not to drink until im ready, however, all my friends do drink and i can tell you that because their parents are strick on it it just makes them want to rebel more so do it in secret. because i am the only sober one in the group of 20 or so, im the lollipop lady (make sure nobody get s run over or taken away) which is really no fun.

However, when we are allowed to go to someones house and there is alcohol involved its completly different, everyone can relax. Alll of my friends would rather drink at home with their friends, in our area being drunk on the street isnt safe and always ends in tears, so the best advice i can give u is the more you fight it with your son, the more he will feel the need to rebel and be sneaky and dangerous about it. im not saying let him drink whenever he wants, but showing that your willing to listen and understand that he wants to will go along way :). Also by doing this if he is ever in trouble after drinking he will feel confident enough to talk to you about it rather than hide.

hope all that helped lol. katie xx

Answer 3

i'm 15, nearly 16, nd there's alot of people in my school who drink on the street at night, well its more like in the middle of a field so the police don't see them. However, many of them go on about how its boring nd there's nothin to do, which is why i never started doing this, i prefer drinking the odd time at parties nd nd stuff. Although i'm not sure how much your son would be able to handle, without risking himself, but i think that when he gets to twelve u should let him drink once so that he wakes up with a hangover and realizes he shouldn't be doing so. Also, u should keep an eye on the types of people who he hangs around with. Look at the areas were his friends are living and the kids who r at 16 now, as it is likely that they will feel the need to copy them, whether this is gd or bad.

Answer 4

a sixteen year old should not be drinking on the street. the odd drink at a party never did me any harm. he wont rebel just cause u dont let him drink on the streets. i say good on u, thats good parenting. ur friend has no idea what they r talking about.drill it into ur son that getiing plastered at 16 is not acceptable. my parents allowed me to drink in the house but only on special occasions. apart from that in 8 years time there will no doubt be harsher penalties put on parents if their child is caught drinking outside.

Answer 5

No it is not acceptable. If you educate your children on the dangers of drink and drug abuse in a way that's appropriate for their age group they will have all the ammo they need to survive the outside world without the need to keep them locked in the child can then make an educated choice rather than being influenced by peers

Answer 6

Based on legality, it's not okay. Because at 16 we are still growing, it's not recommended to let him drink alcohol.

At 14, my dad found too much pot in my possession. He asked me to wait until I was 18 to smoke it again so that it didn't affect my growth. I, not wanting to disappoint my father, fulfilled his request. By the time I was 18, I thought it was lame, so I didn't do it again, but at least I had something to look forward to!

As far as parents go, my Mom wanted to know every detail of every thing I was doing (when I left the house - though I was ignored when I was home) - My Dad had the 'live and learn' attitude and allowed us to do as we pleased. Eventually they divorced so discipline didn't have such conflicting views. We all begged to live with our father, despite the court rulings to split us equally among the parents because we knew what we could get away with.

I know I was underage when I began drinking and to this day, I am told that I am an alcoholic, but the most mentally enforced lesson in my brain is not to drink and drive. While my Dad was not happy, I know he appreciated getting phone calls at 2 in the morning when I was 16 to get a ride home (and even now at 28). Yes, I turned alcholic because of our free reign ability to get drunk at a young age, but 2 brothers don't touch the stuff, my sister drinks 2x a year, and 1 brother died in a drug/alcohol related fatality. I don't know what to say on this issue.

I do know that because we were not allowed to get $R%#$ up at one of our friend's houses, we would sneak out to the garage and get high/drunk, then drive to the cool 24 hour restaurant/hangout so that we didn't get yelled at by their parents.

Okay, so I'm spacy and have brought up a few points. I do have one thing to say - please build your child's self esteem. Be sure that you are proud of them and they know it. Teach them a sense of pride and accomplishment. Teach them morals and values - don't leave it up to them to decide.

And if they are like me and are natural born overachievers don't let them be overlooked - especially if they have other siblings.

Answer 7

No it's not acceptable. For one thing, they all look like morons (and invariably are) and for another, the peer pressure within that social dynamic can lead to them doing stupid things to eachother and other people. For some reason, modern youth's default characterstics are aggression and hostility. If you find that, at the age of 16, all your son is capable of doing to entertain himself is drinking cheap newsagent piss from a silver bottle and throwing chips at passers-by, then I'd take a long look at yourself and the parent you haven't been.

P.s = Champagne, it's not illegal in UK for a 16 year old to drink, it's illegal for them to buy it. I've nothing against a 16 year old drinking - moderate amounts at home. I did.

Answer 8

You obviously know that for a sixteen year old child to be drunk on the street is illegal, immoral and undesirable. You are right to worry about the future behaviour of your young son. The only way to educate your son in observing the drinks law is to start now and encourage him in obeying all legal constraints on his behaviour in all things. Ask yourself why you didn't drink at 16 and try and promote those feelings and conditions in your son's life.
I think that asking sixteen-year olds to respond to your question might prove to be counter productive.

Answer 9

my guess is that champagne has no kids,or if she does they are very young...my son is 15 and has been known to have the odd drink on the street with his mates. we are very much against this and he knows that, but he is under a lot of peer pressure which is hard to resist at that age. to his credit he has never come home plastered and tends to come home early on a Saturday night when all his mates are drinking.this is a normal part of teenage life, even so we NEVER condone it. but in all honesty, most of us did the same thing. he is a good kid generally so we don't come down hard on him as he has the sense to come home.

Answer 10

no its not acceptable children need discipline and in fact they thrive on it this might seem hard to believe but children need structure. but you have to work at there level all it doesn't work and they rebel. best way to prevent the worse scenarios is when he is older explain to him what happens or could happen when he gets drunk with friend showing him photos and short films will make a good point explain to him its dangerous but if he does still want to drink tell him to do it with you and to do it sensible just make sure you show him its not clever to over do it. GOOD LUCK (-: