If this were true, teen drinking would have gone up after adoption of the legal drinking age. It did not — according to the Monitoring the Future survey, teen drinking has gone declined by 40 percentage points, or 61% proportionally since 1985. And here is another advantage of the law: the drinking habits of 18-year-olds have a big influence on younger teens — 13 to 17. Data show a big decline in drinking by 10th and 8th graders, too.

In fact, most teens don’t drink. This includes 74% of 12th graders, 87% of 10th graders, and 93% of 8th graders who did not drink in the past 30 days. So, when it comes to fitting in, not drinking is the way to go.

Parents don’t have to drink with their children to teach them responsible drinking. A recent U.S. study shows that when parents don’t allow their teens to drink alcohol in high school, their children drink less in college and have fewer negative alcohol-related consequences than do kids of more permissive parents.

R.org, Online CARAVAN survey, 2022

Again, this question assumes that binge drinking was less common when the legal drinking age was 18 or 19. That assumption is wrong — binge drinking by 12th graders has dropped by 25 percentage points, or 68% proportionally from 1985 to 2020.

It’s not your decision to make. Letting other teens drink in your house undermines other parents, and in many states, it violates the law. Drunk driving isn’t the only danger associated with teen drinking, and you can’t guarantee that your teen guests won’t drive after they leave your house. Offer non-alcoholic choices rather than another drinking venue.

Can you really control what happens? There are too many real stories about teens who are injured from drinking under adult supervision. This includes instances of serious alcohol poisoning, sometimes resulting in death. Giving permission to drink at home also may be interpreted to mean that you approve if they drink with friends when you’re not around.

Actually, they do. European teenagers drink more alcohol more often than their American counterparts and get drunk more frequently. The concept that European teens do not have drinking problems is a myth.

Studies have shown that parents have a significant influence on youth decisions about alcohol consumption. In trend data reaching back to 1991, youth between the ages of 13 and 17 report their parents have the strongest influence on their decisions to drink or not drink alcohol, with their influence increasing from 55% in 1991 to 65% in 2021. And a parent’s attitudes about alcohol use continue to influence drinking decisions even after a teen has left for college.

Seat belt requirements, zero tolerance laws, increased enforcement, and frankly, increased public education and information on the dangers of teen drinking have contributed to the downturn in teen drinking and accidents. However, after careful study, the U.S. Department of Transportation concluded that the minimum drinking age law, by itself, has played an important role in reducing both teen drinking and driving after drinking.

It’s the law. In addition, ages of “initiation” vary. You can work at 14, vote at 18, and drink at 21, but you can’t run for Congress until you’re 25. Researchers who have evaluated the data say the minimum legal drinking age delays the onset of alcohol use, reduces drinking and driving, and reduces teen traffic fatalities. Additionally, youth who drink before 21 are more likely than youth that do not drink alcohol underage to have alcohol-related problems as an adult.