Hot Topic (9/23): Adults providing alcohol to minors
CHEHALIS, Wash. -- The Lewis County sheriff's office says a 15-year-old Nick Barnes of Onalaska has died of alcohol poisoning.
The Onalaska High School student was taken to the hospital early Saturday after drinking at a party and died Monday night at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma.
The sheriff's office says detectives have spoken to an adult who is believed to have provided the alcohol.
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When adults provide alcohol to minors, what consequences should they face in situations like this? Should they be prosecuted?
Do you think it is ever all right for adults to provide alcohol to underaged teenagers?
that's so sad. yea i think the adults should be prosecuted. my son is 9, and i would never give him or his friends alcohol.
When I was a teen, there was a lady that bought alcohol for all the neighborhood kids. (I'm talking 13 and up). I thought it was cool then. When I look back, if someone would do that with my DD (who is only 6 now BTW) I don't know if they would have to call the police on her for doing it or on me for trying to 1/2 kill her. There's too much of life to enjoy as a teen without alcohol.
The woman should be jailed. I just hope a good prosecutor can come up with some sort of manslaughter charge instead of just serving 6 months for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
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That is very sad. I do believe that adults are responsible and should have consequences. Define underage.....in many European countries you can drink at 16 legally.
Having said that, I believe many alcohol related incidents gone bad have many factors. For one, not educating your kids about it. You are not allowed to legally drink in the US until you are 21 - so in many instances, kids go crazy by the time they are allowed to drink. Our parents had the talk with us when we were 16 and stated that if we wanted to have a drink, to have one at home with them. Well that took the fun out of it for us, lol - so we did not have to go out to seek it elsewhere.
I don't even know where they came up with '21' that is such a random number. You are an adult at '18', you can be deployed and die for your country, oh, but, you can't drink. STUPID IMO.
first, is it ever all right for adults to serve to minors? yes, when the parents are serving to their own children. just because a few adults will be idiotic and irresponsible about it, doesn't mean that most parents wont be. every once in a while there is a special ocasion where one might allow their teen to partake in some alcohol consumption. [champagne on new years? at a wedding?]
should adults, in general, be able to serve to teens? no. not without the teen's legal guardian present.
as to what kind of punishment this adult should receive, obviously along the lines of providing to a minor. maybe this adult's biggest mistake [and what is an "adult" here anyway? 21? 25? 35?] was assuming the teen would drink responsibily, and that's something only the teen can control.
at least, this article doesn't make it sound like the teen was being forced to drink, like in the cases of hazing.
Quoting resamerie:
When I was a teen, there was a lady that bought alcohol for all the neighborhood kids. (I'm talking 13 and up). I thought it was cool then. When I look back, if someone would do that with my DD (who is only 6 now BTW) I don't know if they would have to call the police on her for doing it or on me for trying to 1/2 kill her. There's too much of life to enjoy as a teen without alcohol.
The woman should be jailed. I just hope a good prosecutor can come up with some sort of manslaughter charge instead of just serving 6 months for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
where does the article say it was a woman?
When adults provide alcohol to minors, what consequences should they face in situations like this? Should they be prosecuted?
I think it depends on how involved in the kids drinking they were, If it was a matter of they bought the alcohol handed it over and the kids went to a party or was the adult at the party egging on extreme drinking? I think the first warrants a charge of buying minors alcohol and the other a more severe crime.
Do you think it is ever all right for adults to provide alcohol to underaged teenagers?
If it is in their home and they don't leave that home, If a parent lets their kids drink occasionally, then that is their business, and I don't see any harm in it. I don't mean letting a kid get falling down drunk, but a drink now and then is no cause for alarm.
It didn't. I was only sharing my personal past experience. My bad. I was just thinking back and that's what came out. Ooopps!
Quoting adulation:
Quoting resamerie:
When I was a teen, there was a lady that bought alcohol for all the neighborhood kids. (I'm talking 13 and up). I thought it was cool then. When I look back, if someone would do that with my DD (who is only 6 now BTW) I don't know if they would have to call the police on her for doing it or on me for trying to 1/2 kill her. There's too much of life to enjoy as a teen without alcohol.
The woman should be jailed. I just hope a good prosecutor can come up with some sort of manslaughter charge instead of just serving 6 months for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
where does the article say it was a woman?
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I'm going to have to say that its OK if the parents do it, think about it, if you can drink at home and you LEARN how to drink responsibly then you wont go out and get shitfaced every night. at least that's how i grew up, i was allowed to have wine on shabbat and whenever it was served (dinner parties events art galleries, openings etc) and i think i got wrecked maybe twice in my entire life. same with everyone else i know that had access to alcohol as a kid.
My daughter is 14 and has honey wine on occasion with the family and sometimes a bit of wine cooler. She mixes it with other things sometimes. The honey wine is required for religious practices but yeah she drinks it at times with dinner.
But she is not given enough to get drunk. She is not given any around her friends. Her friends are not given any.
At one party I did find a friend of hers had snuck a beer in (she brought it with her in her bag from her own home). My daughter was the one who told me about it. I took the beer and brought her home. The girl complained that I let my daughter drink and I pointed out that she is not my daughter and it is not my choice. My daughter also doesn't get a whole beer to herself.
I raised two nephews this same way and it worked out great. I was also raised like this. I learned about responsible drinking early on and didn't have anything to be curious about. I didn't learn about alcohol in front of my friends where I have to prove myself to anyone.
People who purchase alcohol for children are responsible for what happens. Even if it was the parents the child got alcohol poisoning and that is out of line. But this child died of it and that is past any line. The person does need to be held responsible and should get involuntary manslaughter charges in my opinion. Even at 15 this is still a child and people need to realize that.
Eight Year Old Girl Given "Catastrophe Award" By Teacher
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on Sep. 23, 2009 at 2:13 AM