Times have changed

How old is old enough? That depends on who you are asking. My father always says that in the eyes of a parent, your child can never be old enough. The law has its own take on this. For example, the law may say 16, 18 or 21 depending on whether you are asking about the legal age for one to get married, have a national ID or simply be allowed to drink alcohol. In Rwanda, you are legible for a national ID at 16, you can legally consume alcohol at 18 but you can only legally get married at 21. Confusing, right? Not really.

The issue we are discussing today is whether 18 is too young for someone to legally drink alcohol. I say no.

There surely has to be a reason why at 18, someone is called a young adult. At 18, most young people are leaving the safe haven provided by parents to go and start a new life at the university. It is at that age that a big percentage is expected to carve out a new life that involves living alone, budgeting, and having self-control about how to balance their education and free time. Turning 18 entails receiving the rights and responsibilities of adulthood to vote, be prosecuted as adults, signing contracts, and joining the army.

The world is not the same anymore. Our children are exposed to so much and at such a tender age. I suggest that instead of trying to shield them from the obvious, we start preparing them early enough. We should be able to teach our children how to do everything in moderation and safely at a younger age than letting them go over board when they are older because they haven’t learned how to properly use some of these things.

I think that to decrease unsafe drinking; the best option would be to allow 18-olds to drink alcohol in regulated environments with supervision. Increasing the age when one can be able to buy a drink causes more harm than good because it is then that our children are forced to get alcohol in dark dangerous places instead of the safety and control of a bar man. Prohibiting people who are below 21 from drinking in bars, restaurants, and other licensed locations causes them to drink in unsupervised places such as house parties where they may be more prone to binge drinking and any other unsafe behavior. 

After all has been said and done, the trouble with kids drinking lies in the home. Just like everything else this is for the parents to teach, not the government.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw

At that age, one is not of mature mind

Young people and alcohol have been a matter of contention for years and years. The fact is, youth have fewer responsibilities like family to take care of or a job to protect so when it comes to drinking, they usually don’t hold back. The youthfulness comes with energy; add alcohol to all this and the end result is usually regret. With alcohol comes less and less control of one’s actions. Temptations to fornicate, abuse drugs and many other bad things are rampant. With such temptations falling at one’s feet, it takes a mature mind to think through something at that stage and know that this is where the line should be drawn. Raising the drinking age helps to have drinkers that can think through something before doing it. When can an 18 year old, under the influence of alcohol and peer pressure ever know that enough is enough?

When you visit a bar mid week, you will be surprised by the number of young 18 and 19 year olds that drink their nights away. Raising the drinking age to 21 gives our young people a chance to earn their wage and spend it on more meaningful things. Definitely some will still illegally purchase the alcohol or lie about their age but it is also true that a significant number will be scared of breaking the law and liquor stores will also be careful on whom they are selling alcohol to.

Around the age of 18, many youth are barely out of puberty and the issues and changes that they to deal with are many. At that age, not many teenagers want to talk to their parents about anything. There are issues of the first crush, fashion, their first period, the pressure to fit in etc. With all this pilling up on a young mind, it is easy for them to drown into alcohol. Raising the drinking age helps young minds have a better start of their adulthood by dealing with issues like normal people, not using drugs and alcohol to temporarily sort out their problems.

Also, alcohol could disrupt development at a time when they’re making important decisions about their lives (school, careers, and relationships)

We also can’t forget the health risks that come with drinking at a tender age. Some researchers believe that heavy drinking during teenage years, when the brain is still developing, may cause lasting impairments in brain functions such as memory, coordination, and motor skills—at least among susceptible individuals. Pushing the age of drinking helps the brain develop more to a level where some of the health risks are less likely to affect an individual.

In conclusion, the debate on whether young adults should be drinking at 18 or 21 shouldn’t take a lot of time. We should focus more on creating more valuable activities for the young minds to focus on. Activities of development, brain boosting and patriotism that their minds until they are old enough to make that choice.

Alcohol doesn’t add anything to an 18 year old, if anything, it takes away a lot from them and sometimes even robs them of a bright future that they have spent so long trying to achieve.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw