Introduction
Juvenile drinking can be defined as underage drinking. It is drinking by young children under age 21. It is known as juvenile drinking since it involves young children who have copied the behaviors of the adults and started drinking. It is also against the law by these young children to start drinking. Many factors are said to have influenced the children drinking and one of the biggest examples is the urban and the rural areas. The problem of underage drinking has continued to plague most of the nation’s young people. This is because most of the young people have not been left behind and have also engaged themselves in drinking habits of which is quite centrally against the law. Most of the countries have enacted the law to ensure that the young can be controlled from drinking. The pervasiveness of juvenile drinking places not only the Americans youth but all over the citizens in many countries especially the developed countries.
This issue has put the youth at a risk due to the consequences which are associated with these drinks. But in order to facilitate a coordinational and also a comprehensiveness enforcement and alcohol prevention, programs have been established by at least every state. A good example for this case is the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention (OJJDP) which is one of the programs which is administering the new combating underage drinking program. Underage drinking is evident in many states and this is according to a report by the office of the national drug control policy which during the year 1996, it reported that approximately 9.5 million drinkers during that year were between the ages 12-21. This report also includes that out of this number, 4.4 million were binge drinkers while 1.9 million were heavy drinkers. So, you can imagine how young children have abused themselves with these drinks. (Susan, 2001).
Contrasting juvenile drinking in New York and Venice Florida
One of the major contrasting factors in juvenile drinking in both the New York and Venice Florida is the cost of these drinks. You find that children in the small cities will be forced to drink so much because most of the drinks at the small cities are usually cheap as when compared to the price of drinks at the big cities. As a result, you find that the prices for the drinks at the small city will be sold at a cheaper price hence encouraging these children to drink.
A good example with this is drinking by the school children. You find that most of the students in the small towns don’t usually have a lot of money since most of them are from the poor families and hence it’s due to the cheapness of these drinks that most of the students will snick out of school and go drink. Also at the small towns, you find that there are local brewers for these drinks. These drinks are usually sold at a cheap price at the small towns. As a result, you will find that the children at the small town since they don’t have any source of income will be forced to buy the cheap drinks. At the end of the day, you will find that they have become addicts of these drinking hence the increasing rate of juvenile drinking at the small town. (Susan, 2001).
Another contrasting factor in this case is the different ways of life which is different in New York and Venice Florida. In New York, you find that it’s a big city which is already developed as when compared with the Venice Florida town. As a result, you will find that drinking in New York will be high as when compared to juvenile drinking in Venice Florida. This is because most of the children at that place come from the rich families. This is because of the economy of New York. You find that New York is one of the industrialized cities in the United States hence many people at this place are very rich as when compared to those at the Venice Florida. Also you find that most of the young people in New York belong to the rich tycoons. As a result, most of them due to their bad ways of living since most of them are usually given a lot of money by their parents will engage in juvenile drinking and other engage in criminal activities. It is out of these criminal activities that the young will be forced to engage in drinking. So, it is due to the economic stability in New York that most of the underage drinking can be found.
It is also argued that most of the recreational facilities are the well known places for these young children to drink. This is because the recreational places are usually established so that people can make use of them during their free times. So, in this case, you find that recreational places in the big cities say in New York are highly developed and many as when compared to the recreational places which are found at Venice Florida. So, you find that most of the youth say from ages 12-21 usually spent their free times here especially during weekends when they are not attending classes. So, it is in these places whereby the young meet with their friends and start drinking. This is because this is a public place and none could question them. Example of these recreational places includes clubs, hotel beaches among others. So, you find that these children usually carry the portable drinks and use them in these places. So, when compared to the Venice Florida, you will find that recreational facilities in New York have led to the heavy drinking by the youth of which some of these facilities are not found in the small towns like Venice Florida. (Susan, 2001).
Another contributing factor in this case is the many institutes of higher education which are found in New York. You find that in New York, there are so many institutes of higher education so you find that most of the students are forced to go and learn here. It is out these institutes that the students in this case will be forced to drink. This is because they usually copy the behaviors from the rest of the students. So you will find that due to the many students in this case, they usually spent most of their times drinking. Unlike in Venice Florida whereby there are few institutes since most of the students usually seek for good education in the well developed cities like New York. So when you compare drinking in new York and the Venice Florida, you will find that juvenile drinking will be more in new York than in Venice Florida and the difference is found in the number of schools and the institutes which are found in the two cities. (Bu Huang, 2001).
New York is also seen to have the highest percentage of students from the urban disadvantaged areas like Venice Florida. So, you find that most of the students from the disadvantaged areas usually go to New York so tat they can get good education. This is because New York has professional schools so these students are forced to go there to learn. It is in these schools that these students will be involved in drinking. This is out of the social influence they get from the rich students. They are then forced to copy these behaviors hence leading to juvenile drinking. (Bu Huang, 2001).
Another difference with drinking in New York and Venice Florida is the cultural norms and believes which are found between these people. You find that in the big cities, many people usually meet there from different backgrounds and there is no known culture which is supposed to bind these people together. For example in New York, you find that it is an industrialized city and hence many people meet there from the different backgrounds and cultures. As a result, you will find that there are no norms and values which dictate the behaviors of these people hence leading to juvenile drinking.
In comparison, you find that in the small cities say in the Venice Florida, it is a small city which is found at the rural areas. So, here you find that mostly is based by a single society and hence there are norms and values which are supposed to bide these people together. So, you find that due to the fear of becoming a deviant in that society, you tend to find that most of the young people don’t engage in drinking. They also have a strong culture whereby most of the families are living at the extended families and these children usually get counseling from a variety of people unlike in the big urban cities. It is out of this that most of the young are not associated with drinking as when compared to the young children in new York since this is a big city whereby people from all communities usually meet. (Bu Huang, 2001).
Comparison
In both New York City and Venice Florida, there are set programs which are supposed to prevent these children from drinking. A good example in this case is the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention (OJJDP) which is one of the programs which is administering the new combating underage drinking program. It is in this program that laws have been enforced by the state to ensure that underage drinking has been prohibited and also there are laws to ensure that there is no sale of these drinks to the young. So in both these cities, you find that there are laws to ensure that the young children have been prohibited from drinking and if one is got drinking, there are laws which are supposed to be followed on this person. (Highson, 1996).
Another comparison in juvenile drinking in both cities is the urban influence. You find that most of the young are usually carried away by the urban way of life. So, in this case, you find that if one was from the rural areas, this person will likely fall a victim of juvenile drinking since most of the young in the urban areas are well known for drinking. So, it is out of these behaviors that most of the young will fall victims of juvenile drinking since they will be influenced by the children from the rich families.
Another similarity with juvenile drinking in both New York and Venice Florida is that the children here lack parental guidance and counseling. This is because most of the parents for these children don’t usually have enough times to stay with their children and advice them on the best way to go. It is out of this that you will find that these children from the two cities will be lacking the correct way of live since you find that most of the children never even see their parents. So, these children will then become juvenile drinkers since they usually find that they are doing the correct thing. (Highson, 1996).
Another similarity in the two cities is the freedom these children usually have. You find that these children in these cities are usually idle. They are idle most of the times since they live most of their lives in the urban places. So, you find that these children are likely to result to juvenile drinking since they are usually free as when compared to the children at the rural areas whereby they have to go farming and other areas. So, since their lives are usually urbanized, they have to spend their free time in drinking. (Bu Huang, 2001).
Conclusion
Juvenile drinking is one of the rising issues in most of the states. This is because the young children have abused themselves so much out of drinking. It is against the law for the young children to start drinking. It is due to this that many programs have been established to ensure that the young have been prevented from drinking. This is because there are a largest percentage of children who are started drinking as young as 12 years old. It is the same children who shall later become criminals and we expect these children to become the next leaders tomorrow. So, if not controlled early in advance, then you will find that there are an increased number of young children who will have engaged themselves in to juvenile drinking. It is the high time that nations organize themselves and try to curb this behavior.
Reference
Highson, R. (1996): Prevention of drinking. Alcohol health and research world 20.
Susan, E. (2001): Alcohol, youth and the justice system: Underage drinking. Handbook of youth and justice, pp 159-189.
Bu Huang, H. (2001): Developmental Associations between alcohol and interpersonal aggregation during adolescence. Journal of research in crime and delinquency.