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Underage drinking comes with penalties, tell you kids

If you ask most people what their idea of the most difficult job is, most would answer: being a parent. From the time they are born until the time they reach adulthood, you are responsible for teaching your children valuable life lessons. This can be difficult though when you think about the competition you’re up against.

From peer pressure to idolization of celebrities who can sometimes make poor life choices, it isn’t always easy to keep your child from making poor choices themselves. The best you can do is warn them about the consequences they could face, especially if those consequences are legal in nature.

Take for example underage drinking. While most teenagers and young adults might consider it cool to swipe a bottle from their parent’s liquor cabinet or take a swig of beer at a friend’s house party, it’s important for under 21 year olds to know that this kind of behavior is not only frowned upon by the law, but it can lead to legal consequences as well.

Considered a second degree misdemeanor here in Florida, consuming alcohol under the age of 21 can result in fines, time in jail and a conviction that appears on a young person’s criminal record. On top of this, consuming alcohol under the legal drinking age can lead to other serious consequences. One that might be considered most devastating to a young person is the loss of their driving privileges.

In a lot of cases of underage drinking, young people are either unaware of the laws that apply to them or don’t understand the seriousness of what can happen if they are convicted of a crime. Most parents aren’t even aware of this fact. This is why we hope parents who are reading this post will take the information they have learned today home with them and help their under 21 year old understand the criminal and civil consequences they could face if they decide to drink under the legal age.

Source: leg.state.fl.us, “Title XXXIV, Chapter 562, Section 562.11,” Accessed March 26, 2015

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