I’ve been working on a chapter in my memoir that involves a story about a family member’s first encounter with alcohol. While researching drinking ages in various countries and drinking statistics in the U.S., I read that 1 out of 3 eighth graders drinks alcohol.
I don’t doubt that many middle-schoolers have tasted alcohol but 1 out of 3 sounds like a lot! What do you think? How old were you when you first started drinking? How do you prevent your kids from drinking at a young age?
Stephanie Nikolopoulos 
I guess that the age for every rite of passage has dropped over the past 40 years, but I also think there are many many “Kids,” even today, who haven’t tried anything. I never trust statistics…..or “studies” …. And don’t get me started on polls!! The age in my generation and the place I grew up seemed to be 15 — at least that was when I began to rebel, experiment and dabble. Of course I lived in the 1967 (only2 years old) Happening east village in NYC! .. so I was ultra-cool. … or at least thought I was …So VERY cutting edge etc. etc.