MINORS IN BARS

LoriMiller · 08-18-2005, 06:08 AM

As most everyone knows Iam a Karaoke DJ which means I spend alot of time in our locale taverns and as much as I love my Job there is one thing that makes me have the willies. UNDERAGE KIDS IN BARS!
I can pick out any given night school night or not and show you parents who think it's ok to bring your child into a bar and party with them. The law says it's ok because they are in there with a parent and the parent may purchase and give thier child alcohol.
"JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD" The restaurant association says that it good cause you can teach your child reasponsiable drinking. What is so reasponsiable about giving your 16 or 17 yr old enough alcohol to be staggering around and the parent and kid arguing over who is the most sober to drive?
I'm not talking about the parents who give thier kid a glass of wine now and then or the parent who decides to throw a party at thier home where everyone will be safe i'm talking about people who thinks it's cute to throw a 9 yr old's birthday party at the bar or even a 17 year old. i have stood and argued with parents about this and will continue to do so. We can't change the parents but maybe we can change the law. Bars are not daycare centers they are for adults and it shouldn't be fun to watch your kid get totally trashed or get put in harms way. Kids will find thier way to the bottle soon enough lets not push it on them so soon and if you can't keep your head out of a bottle long enough to throw your kid a real birthday party then please get some help!!!! :roll:

**Kris10** · 08-18-2005, 08:36 AM

Well said! I've been in bars where parents have brought kids. I hate trying to play pool when a table of 10 year olds next to me is screaming and waving their cues in the air. Their mom is usually sitting at the bar getting sloshed. I'm not often in bars, except for karaoke

, and I'd like to think a bar is one place I can go to be sheltered from screaming kids!

Beyong babysitting and booze, I think bars certainly appeal to kids because of video games, pool and sports on every TV. A lot of local teen centers are catching on to this and offer pool tables or games often found in bars. Waukesha Teen Center, Inc. has done a great job with this format. Many of these centers run on donations and volunteers (hint, hint) and are worth investing in to keep kids in a safe environment.

andy · 08-18-2005, 09:30 AM

If I was ever in a bar where a minor was being obnoxious I would never go back. If I wanted to be around stupid kids I'd hang out at the mall.

**AJE** · 09-09-2005, 11:50 PM

Yep, I couldn't agree more with this topic. Its no wonder why kids now a days are trying to display such lude behavior. Really I view the issue as a type of endangerment or child neglect. Parents should never bring their kids to any scene where their is a large amount of alcohol. I have a friend who would have her parents drag her and the younger sisters to a bar on a school night and let them cuddle up under a bar stool or booth while ma & pa stayed till closing. :cry:

CarGuy · 04-14-2006, 09:15 AM

You know what I find really disturbing. Is that after they all get done drinking... with their children in the Bar, they load them in the car and drive them home blasted out of their heads!!! :x Do they really hate their children that much, or are they just completely stupid?

andy · 04-14-2006, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SandLmotors

You know what I find really disturbing. Is that after they all get done drinking... with their children in the Bar, they load them in the car and drive them home blasted out of their heads!!! :x Do they really hate their children that much, or are they just completely stupid?

You're right, that sets a really bad example for the kids. It's totally counter productive, the kids are going to grow up thinking that drunk driving is acceptable.

Crys · 04-17-2006, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SandLmotors

You know what I find really disturbing. Is that after they all get done drinking... with their children in the Bar, they load them in the car and drive them home blasted out of their heads!!! :x Do they really hate their children that much, or are they just completely stupid?

Anyone who gets behind the wheel of a car after they've had even one drink is just that stupid. The legal limit for intoxication is WAY higher than the blood alcohol level where you become so impaired you shouldn't be driving.

I would love to see on the second or third offense (first would be mandatory classes on the effects of drunk driving and on parenting), people losing their custodial rights. Too bad the child protection system these days is so bureaucratic and bogged down and over-full that they're almost (but not quite) as bad as the parents they're taking the kids away from.

Rob1981 · 04-18-2006, 09:52 AM

Kids don't belong in bars. Parents need to be more responsible, or they will learn the hard way: by either finding out their kid is now drinking, car accident or something else.

pk · 10-03-2006, 01:52 PM

I'm glad I saw this topic on here. You will usually see me stay out of the deep subjects and stay where the fun is, but this is huge to me. I will never, ever understand a person that calls themselves a 'parent' that will bring a child of any age into a bar and offer a drink to them. They need to be put in jail and the child needs to find a better home. If that insults anyone, I'm sorry but that is my thought.

That goes to anyone bringing a child to a bar, or allowing them to drink in their home. So many parents allow their teens to have house parties with the idea that it's OK since it is at the house where they can watch them. Bull.

What you are doing is simply allowing a breeding ground for future alcoholics! As in the statement I read: "House parties for underage drinkers are boot camps for future alcoholics."

What most 'parents' don't understand that if a child under the age of 18 starts drinking they are setting this poor child up with an increase of 70 percent of becoming an adult with a serious drinking problem. This is according to a research conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Is this what you want for your child??

If the parent can't be responsible enough to know not to take a child into the bar, then a law should be in place telling them not to do it. This needs to stop.

Many parents have a serious drinking problem that drag their under age young child into their 'life style' of the bar life. What they are doing is simply 'passing on' the family problems.

The one point that I really feel is important and this state should recognize. ALCOHOL IS A DRUG! If you are allowing your child to drink, then what does that make you?? I will tell you, it makes you a drug pusher.

I personally feel sorry for any child that has a drug pusher for a parent. Does that sound harsh? Well ask yourself when you are sober, how much do you love your child? Did you teach him/her to look before crossing a street? Did you teach them to not talk to strangers when they were little? Did you care enough to feed them proper food, take them to a dentist, make sure they had all their childhood shots? Wear boots and a warm coat when it was cold outside?

Well for the most part I would think most parents would have to answer yes to those questions, simply because you wanted to protect your child. You love your child...but you give them a drug and put them on their way to a possible life of a drinking problem??

Think about it. Your child watches what you do. Your child trusts you to do the right thing. They imitate you. Your child is you. Like father like son is an excellent clip to watch on this subject.

I agree, no matter what is said, most adults will not change their behavior simply because people like me care SO much about this subject that we will take the time to write something about it..so it is time we try to change the laws. The law is here to protect the innocent and I cannot think of anyone more innocent then a young child that needs our help. Parents need more information on the gravity of allowing minors to drink and perhaps a law passed will make them notice the importance of learning about this issue.

I'm not telling any adult if they should drink or not. That is a personal issue that I won't touch here. I am saying that if you choose to go to the bar, please do not take your child/children. A bar is not the place for them. A bar is for adults. A playground is for children. Let children be children and stay out of places they don't belong.

Life is difficult enough then to have the added burden of a drinking problem handed to them because they were to young to know better and trusted their parent to take care of them.

pk

**j10asen** · 10-03-2006, 03:30 PM

I too dis-like controversial issues.

I think anyone that should read and understand the consequeces of serving minors alcohol are too clouded by the effects of alcohol to understand, even fines/removal only re-inforces their bitterness and distain. Being seperated from your birth parents can also be very distressing, especially with the co-depandancy that exists in families such as described above. :cry:

pk · 10-03-2006, 07:55 PM

Yes, I much prefer to stick with the fun and light topics.

But once in awhile you will see me get on my podium and I guess this is one of the few times. Sorry if I offended anyone but I think children are worth fighting for.

Crys · 10-04-2006, 09:55 AM

There are certain contexts where minors can be in bars without it being an issue.

Not a single one of those contexts involve neglectful parents or minors getting alcohol. I agree with everyone here about how wrong that is. And that irresponsibility is probably 95% of the time you'll find a kid in a bar, I'm sure.

But two examples of times when I was in a bar as a minor that I really don't see any problem with:

In high school, we had an open lunch break. Small town, only a couple restaurants. A bunch of my friends and a few other groups of people would go to a local bar for lunch because they had really good food. The place was very strict on IDs, refusing even to serve regulars that they knew were 21 if they didn't have ID on them. It was rarely busy at lunch time (unlike the one or two non-bar restaurants which were always packed with other high schoolers), and we played pool and darts if we had the time. We weren't the obnoxious entitlement-complex brats you usually see in bars; the adult patrons were always far more obnoxious than we were combined. Then again, maybe this is unique to very small towns.

When I was much younger, my parents were musicians and we spent a lot of time on the road. Usually I stayed in the hotel room, but I was always begging to see them perform. Sometimes they brought me along, made sure I had adult supervision and that the bartender knew I was allowed to have as many Shirley Temples as I wanted (but no Coke! no caffeine before bed!), and that was that. I sat at a table or on a bar stool and watched. No running around or being loud. I just love watching my parents on stage.

Realistically, I don't think more laws are going to change anything for the better. We encourage people to let the police and other institutions, like schools, raise our children rather than forcing the responsibility back onto the parent.

I would rather see people having to get licenses to raise children. Unfortunately, even if that happened, I imagine there are far more children than there would ever be people who qualified to raise them.

pk · 10-04-2006, 10:04 AM

There are always more sides than one on any issue. I thank you for sharing your experiences. My side is more slanted towards parents that bring kids in to the bar so the parents can sit and drink all evening, and the child grows up thinking this is the way of life. Or worse, allow their underage child to drink with them. That is wrong.

**Kris10** · 10-04-2006, 10:48 AM

This article in the Wisconsin State Journal really caught my attention last week. The fines for underage drinking are $172 for the first violation and $298 for the second violation within 12 months. Does that not seem like a slap on the wrist?

I lived in downtown Waukesha and it was a nightmare due to underage houseparties thrown by Carroll College students. Kids were passing out on lawns, urinating on houses and making noise the whole block could hear. It was always the same houses (the only houses on the block with college kids) that caused trouble.

The police would bust the parties, ticket the kids and it would repeat every week. Paying a fine had no effect on the parties. Perhaps suspension of your license (whether you drove drunk or not) or punishment from the school (like banning you from activities) would wake kids up or at least shut them up when they're having a party. The kids are probably spending more than $172 on beer in a weekend, such a small fine doesn't work! How many more kids are going to drown in La Crosse because their drinking is out of control?

pk · 10-04-2006, 11:36 AM

Now a days, most kids think money is nothing. A small fine is laughable.

How about a creative judge that hands out a sentence of not only a fine, but more personal punishments? If a teen is getting drunk in a neighborhood house party, then he/she should have to carry a large sign and knock on all the doors in the neighborhood, say sorry for being drunk, and stand on a busy street for a full weekend for everyone to look at him/her.

Or another one, front page picture on the local news of the person with the sign publicly announcing he was drunk at a party and was arrested.

Another good one, spend a day viewing drunk driving accident films. Or viewing what someone's liver looks like after years of abuse etc.

Also make them do public awarness, and community work for a month of weekends. At least a month they will not be able to go to parties. Plenty of soup kitchens, homeless shelters etc. can use extra help. Show them how those without money live and make them see the value of the dollar they are throwing away on drinking.

Yes, hit them where it hurts, take their driving priviledges away for awhile. Maybe 6 months for the first offense, etc...

Many things can be done that will wake up teens. A slap on the wrist will not help.

Also, if a parent is found knowingly aiding the teen to have a house party, they also should be included in the public punishment. How many adults would like to admit they aided their child to drink for all to see? Standing on a street corner for a weekend with a sign? HA...I think underage drinking issues would be brought down quickly.

krazzydart · 10-24-2006, 05:37 AM

Well sorry to go againt the grain a bit.... ( i do agree though, children should be raised at home,and not in a bar)
Well You Know that the door opens and closes...... If you dont like it and you are the one running the show!!! shut it down and say NO MINORS>>> NO EXCEPTIONS>>>> N