shinny

Penny, glad to hear you daughter is doing better. I'm just glad that the spiders were have here are very harmless. I'm not afraid of spiders, but I never seem to have any in the house. I'm sure it's not from the want of them trying, but Oscar (my cat) eats them all !!

Meg, wow. That's great that you sister got her permit. How old is she? You have to be 17 here before you can get a provisional licence and 18 to pass your test. I did mine when I was 19 and passed first time. Two of my brothers failed the first time, the other two passed. All the girls (me and my two sisters) passed the first time, so we're winning the battle of the sexes on that one, lol !!

imarielle626

She's 15.  In Florida you can get your permit at 15 and license at 16.  I personally think it is young, but the law to raise the age didn't pass because 16 is the legal age to hold a part-time job so many parents need their kids to be able to drive themselves to work and back

meljones_83

Wow, that does seem young. I don't think I'd have been ready at 15! Not sure I was really ready at 17! I passed the test 2nd time. I've never really enjoyed driving though because although I know I'm in control of what I'm doing, you never know what other people are going to do.



Maybe this is the way to go

[ Last edited by meljones_83 at 2-7-2008 17:33 ]

shinny

15, it's very young alright. I always found it funny that you can drive at 15/16 in the States, fight in a war at 18, but you can't drink until you are 21, lol !!

Here everything is 18. Voting, drinking. No war though, as we are a neutral country But lots of Irish join the UN and some join the British Army/Navy etc.

imarielle626

I never understood why you are legal at 18, can't drink alcohol, but CAN serve it.  Also if you are in the army you are allowed to drink when you are 18 from what I've heard.  Sometimes laws just don't make any sense but lowering the drinking age will never pass in America because a most voters in the 18-21 age range don't take the time to vote and every one older wants to keep the drinking age at 21 because 18 year olds aren't mature enough.

studiojek

Yeah, that whole 18 vs. 21 deal is ridiculous. But driving at 15 is kind of scary - it's a big responsibility!!

gabsimom

They do not drive alone at 15, It is a learning permit to practice with a licensed driver who is at least 18.

penny3760

I don't remember how long ago this happened but the drinking age in Connecticut use to be 21.  But in New York the drinking age was 18. The kids from CT would drive not that far to go to NY to get drunk. Many kids were killed because of driving to a different state to go drinking.   So the government decided to change the drinking age to 21 in every state.
As for getting your driving license at 16, I think it's too young.  I am glad that they are changing they law  to 18 here.  I have a 16 year old grand daughter and I know that she is not mature enough to be driving around.

themegababe

have you all talked with people in Europe about drinking though?  I spent a semester there and it seemed like EVERYONE drank.  Most people weren't drunk all the time though.  I feel like kids should drink before they get their license.  That way they get the "fun" side out of it.  I mean, in Germany you have to be like 18 or 19 (please correct me if i'm wrong) to get a license.  And you can drink legally at 16, although many drink way before that with their families.  Anyways, it seems like they learn responsibility at an early age.  Oh and it  helps that they have much better public transportation (and everyone uses it, unlike the states), so people just take the bus or a cab rather than drive!

shinny

My Mam never drank and my Dad rarely drinks. I actually didn't have my first drink until I was 17 (illegally mind, haha) but most of my friends had tried drink when they were anything between 12 to 18. Although I don't think we have a drink problem in Ireland, I do think it's cause for concern when 90% of socialising is done in pubs/clubs. The culture is starting to change a little bit, but most youngsters think that going to the pub is the bee's knees. It's not until they hit their mid/late 20's that they realise it's not all that.

I wouldn't be against them raising the age limit to 21 here, but that's not going to fix the problem. All you do is push everything underground. I think what needs to be done is have all "alcohol" related advertising pulled from the TV (like they did with cigarettes) and promote more club like activities from an early age, so kids don't see heading to the pub with their mates as being the holy grail.

We took such a significant step here with the smoking ban (Ireland was the first country in Europe to impose the Ban in the "work place") that we now need to tackle some other problems like drinking, drugs, junk food etc.

[ Last edited by shinny at 2-7-2008 20:05 ]

studiojek

I think the problem is when anything becomes too off-limits - it's obvious that if we as a society make so much of a big deal about a simple glass of wine with dinner, then as soon as a 16-year-old gets their license and gets a glimpse of freedom, the first thing they're going to be curious about is alcohol.

The European 'way' of alcohol being part of daily life can help avoid that - but, from the other side of things, I've also seen a lot of alcoholics over here too.

imarielle626

I don't think age has as much to do with drinking problems as culture does.  Here in Israel the drinking age is 18, but culturally people don't go out to get drunk, they just go out to have a couple drinks with some friends.  On the program I am on we are half Americans all under 21.  Since we can all legally drink here in Israel, but not at home, many people take advantage of this privilege and drink too much.

shinny

I agree that it's a culture thing and I also agree with Studio that making something off limits has the opposite effect. Consider this though, Ireland has the biggest population of underage drinking. However, overall our "drinking" is pretty average in respect of other European countries. But one big factor here is that, per capita, Ireland has the "youngest" population of all the countries in Europe. So we have many more impressionable young people, hence the problem of underage drinking.

My point is that there are so many ads on the TV promoting how fun it is to be out drinking, in the pub, with your friends. Making "drink" seem like some special potion that makes you more fun, more attractive and generally more liked.

I would like to see a complete ban on this type of advertising. Stop glorifying it. Also more of the "anti drink" type ads. We have a few that run here and they are really good, but I'm not sure they are hitting home.

Half the population of Ireland is under 30 !!

shinny

Quote:

Originally posted by shinny at 2-7-2008 22:33  
Half the population of Ireland is under 30 !!

I also just realised that I am not in that half anymore

philryk

Quote:

Originally posted by shinny at 7-2-2008 22:36  


I also just realised that I am not in that half anymore

Awwww dont be sad life is what you make of it .... regardless of age

meljones_83

You are right that it is the way drinking is perceived that is the main problem with alcohol in society. I was brought up in a house with no alcohol, my mum and dad don't drink, and I just never really felt the need to either.
When I went away to university, I was seen as being really strange for not wanting to go out and get drunk. I didn't really enjoy it that much because I felt like an outsider. Even though I could still go out with them, it's no fun being sober when everyone else is getting drunk, especially when you are the only one sober enough to deal with them when they get too drunk to find their way home safely!

shinny

My Mam gets that all the time "have a real drink" type comments. I think people don't like having a sober person around them, because they remember everything. I very rarely drink these days. I'm quite happy to out and have a sparkling water. That way i can get on with what I want to do the next day !!

shinny

Quote:

Originally posted by philryk at 2-7-2008 23:58  
Awwww dont be sad life is what you make of it .... regardless of age

Haha, ah I know. I'm happy I'm in my 30's to be honest !!

meljones_83

Yeah. It doesn't bother me any more, it seems like once you start work, going out stops being so much about drinking - often because we'll go out in the week and everyone has to be up the next day. I often think I might start having the odd drink but I still don't think I'd ever get drunk. I guess I never started because I was too worried about overdoing it and not being in control!

waterlilybarb

You're smart Mel.  I'm not much of a drinker either, and have never been drunk.  I too do not like the thought of not being in control of my actions, plus I've seen the after effects of drunkenness.  I'm a one or two drink kind of girl.  My father was an alcoholic, so having a limit is something I have always been very aware of.  I never drink if I feel stressed out or to unwind.  I only drink when I feel like I would like one because I never want to get to the point where I feel like a need one.