Youth & Wine
Tom at Fermentations just posted about offering wine to children, something I have had quite a few discussions w/other folks about.
It's hard to talk about the American attitude toward wine & children without talking about the history and tendency toward prohibition, a topic covered well by Johnson's recent post.
While I am in agreement with the majority of rational wine drinkers on the subject, the ferocity of the other side's seemingly visceral argument is striking. Take, for example, this article on teenstoday.com: it's as if the folks behind the site believe that the only reason people would allow a teenager
(and they're talking about folks 17 or 18 years old) a drink is because they're afraid of what the child will think of them. Frankly, if you're afraid your teenager won't think you're cool, you've got problems that go deeper than throwing a kegger. While they take a slightly more sober viewpoint in another article, their tone is still terribly forboding.
Well, obviously it is serious and can be deadly. But because it is serious, it should be taken seriously, not simply waved away. It's hard to imagine this argument sounding sane to folks in France.
There are countless articles (such as this one) suggesting that lowering the legal drinking age minimum would by itself reduce the frequency of irresponsible drinking among America's youth, but as is pointed out elsewhere, it's not clear that the legal restriction alone is responsible for misuse -- it's a multivariable problem, one for which is seems entirely irresponsible to lay out blanket statements for all children like "it's never safe for children to consume alcohol." Potsdam University published a great article on such logical fallacies.
It's hard to talk about the American attitude toward wine & children without talking about the history and tendency toward prohibition, a topic covered well by Johnson's recent post.
While I am in agreement with the majority of rational wine drinkers on the subject, the ferocity of the other side's seemingly visceral argument is striking. Take, for example, this article on teenstoday.com: it's as if the folks behind the site believe that the only reason people would allow a teenager
"We want parents to understand that underage drinking is not just kids being kids, or a rite of passage. It is a serious - even deadly - problem,"
-- Wendy Hamilton, president of MADD (quote taken from this newspaper article.
Well, obviously it is serious and can be deadly. But because it is serious, it should be taken seriously, not simply waved away. It's hard to imagine this argument sounding sane to folks in France.
There are countless articles (such as this one) suggesting that lowering the legal drinking age minimum would by itself reduce the frequency of irresponsible drinking among America's youth, but as is pointed out elsewhere, it's not clear that the legal restriction alone is responsible for misuse -- it's a multivariable problem, one for which is seems entirely irresponsible to lay out blanket statements for all children like "it's never safe for children to consume alcohol." Potsdam University published a great article on such logical fallacies.
1 Comments:
By ardently prohibiting their teenagers from consuming alcohol, parents unwittingly contribute to the problem. Instead of teaching responsible use, they prefer to look the other way and pretend their teenagers don't have peer groups that circulate alcohol. Any psychologist can confirm this reality of underage drinking. Sadly, psychology isn't viewed by the world an everyday science with practical applications beyond the treatment of mental disorders.
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