So it is up to the parents.........
I feel like I have done a good job raising my now 21 year old son. However having raised him in the U.S. I do not feel like I had much input into teaching him to drink responsibly. Yes I have displayed responsible drinking but past that once he became legal I did not sit him down with a beer and say OK now son it is my job to teach you about drinking. I mean come on!!!!!!! I never let him drink before that because I did not want to contribute to the delinqecy of a minor by breaking the law. So he turned 21 last March and his friends took him to a bar and he got drunk. I gave him lectures before he left and than hoped for the best. He has only been legal for a short time and I think he drinks to much. I talk to him about drinking and can only hope this phase passes for him and his friends. (He is the norm in our area!) I understand in Germany the drinking age is 16. When you turn 18 you can get a drivers license. This way the parents can teach their kids to drink and than after two years teach them to drive. I think they have the right idea!
Sorry about the soapbox!!!!!!!