Paul Stanley has been on a campaign to stop binge drinking and residual violence associated with the act. Paul Stanley was faced with the terrible reality of losing his 18 year old son to a drunken assault at a party. A fatal punch was all it took for Paul’s son’s life to be cut short at the tender age of 18.
Since then, Paul has visited over 150,000 school students to educate them on the dangers of drinking and aggressive behaviour associated with binging on alcohol.
“I ask everybody in the room to close their eyes and to think about the person they know and love the most in their life,
“And it finishes with: ‘Think of that beautiful look on their face when you walked around the corner the other day and they were there, the look of happiness and the big hug you got. Now, open your eyes and just imagine that was the last time you ever saw them.'”
Stepping away from statistics and police scare tactics, emotional conditioning is perhaps a way to get through to our youth and to encourage them to drink responsibly. Kings Cross is a hotspot for binge drinking and it is time that more educational methods are in place to make sure the youth of Australia are not so thrilled at the idea of drinking in excess.
A flood of raging 18year olds into Kings Cross is hardly what is needed.
The French culture, for example, introduces alcohol to their youth at ages of 12 or even younger. This, although it might seem ludicrous at first, is allowing children to become used to the effects of alcohol. Due to age restrictions on alcohol consumption and strict rules about supplying alcohol to minors, it seems Australian laws dictate that until the day you turn 18, no alcohol should be consumed. Perhaps this is the wrong way to go about it.
If we allow our youth to experience alcohol in their homes prior to turning 18, perhaps we are reducing the risk of binge drinking and we are taking away the excitement of alcohol. This ‘off-limits’ attitude is doing more damage than good, as 18year olds are flooded the streets of Kings Cross and drinking past their limits, resulting in unnecessary violence and even leading to drug abuse.
Do you think minors should be introduced to alcohol in the home before they reach the legal drinking age?
To read more on Paul Stanley’s campaign, follow this link –> http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/dads-education-campaign-against-alcohol-fuelled-violence-dedicated-to-son-matthew-stanley-who-died-after-being-punched-at-18th-party-walk-away-chill-out-and-matthew-stanley-foundation/story-fndo45r1-1226435070823
Bringing Potential To Kings Cross 
It’s very difficult to draw a line or label a specific date on which teenagers are able to begin consuming alcohol. We can’t guarantee that a lower legal drinking age will help the problems we’re encountering, but I do believe that education and parental support should be a large part of the conversation. A flood of raging 18 year olds is exactly what we need to dispel, but if that’s also the legal age to enter clubs, what’s to say the situation won’t remain the same?
It is difficult to assess, I agree, but it is hard to understand why Australia’s drinking culture seems almost primitive in comparison to that of European cultures. I feel their greater understanding of the substance from such a young age is beneficial in reducing the amount of binge drinking thus resulting in incidences of alcohol fuelled violence. Would you agree that our drinking culture is partially to blame for the current attitude within Kings Cross? Perhaps an earlier education in alcohol will reduce the excitement to enter said clubs and drink in excess at the age of 18?
VG