Underage Drinking Essay, Research Paper

Underage drinking is a major problem for many of today?s youth. It can lead to teenage alcoholism and even death. It is not singled out to one race, age, or region. It can be found among the wealthiest doctors, lawyers, and businessmen?s children, and yet the poor factory worker?s child becomes that teenage alcoholic too. Some of the major causes of underage drinking are availability, peer pressure, and parents.

Ever stop and wonder how easy it is for a minor to purchase alcohol? There are many different ways. One can ask an older sibling or friend to buy it for them. Many older guys have no problem at all buying alcohol for their underage girlfriends. Another way is a fake I.D. A fake I.D. is becoming increasingly easier to obtain. There are many different internet sites deticated to doing just that. Another simpler way is just by obtaining a friend?s I.D. that is a likeness of yourself. Most clerks do not even look at the picture, just the age. And then of course there are the clerks who just do not care as long as you have money to spend. Although that is becoming more and more unheard of since ABC started investigating more of these circumstances. It only takes that one store to get away with it though, for that one child to be dead.

Peer pressure is associated with many of young people?s problems. Peer pressure can be found in all different social cliques. Underage drinking is where it is mainly dominant though. It can be very hard to say no when all of your friends are saying yes. All it takes is a few ?come on man, just one? and ? everyone else is doing it, why not try some?? Today?s young people can be awfully cruel to someone who does not conform to their standards. Sometimes a teenager may find it easier just to go ahead and take that drink rather than be considered a social outcast.

Parents have many influences over their children. A growing number of parents allow their children to drink right there with them. They say, well it is better than them doing it somewhere else. Some parents simply wish to help ease those troublesome teenage years by trying to be a friend to their children. What so many do not understand is that if a child or young person sees that their parents do not mind their drinking, why not do it when out with their friends as well. Mom and Dad have got to understand that there is no right time for anyone under the age of twenty-one to be drinking. Whether it is celebration time or whether that parents just wants to keep their children off the street.

Although there is no immediate cure to stop underage drinking, through counseling and understanding we can help prevent it in the future. Organizations such as M.A.D.D. offer many different tools to help one understand and ways to talk to your children about this subject. Sometimes just talking and explaining to your children can help tremendously.