When I lived in Spain, Spanish families would go to the bars and drink. The kids got to drink baby beers.It was a family thing.Here in the US its so...I can't find words to describe it..up your ass type situation.My friends who had strict drinking rules seem to screw up more on drinking.

This is had to believe. How can any underage regulation be enforced when children are allowed to drink in bars alongside "parents or guardians?" What did you do, carry around birth certificates or guardianship papers? Absurd! What about 20 somethings on dates with teens? Could kids get legally drunk or drive a car after hoisting a few with Mom?

Parental supervision should trump 21 LDA. Drinking age laws intrinsically create "a very confusing message", to wit: it's illegal and dangerous to drink, but in 3 days, when you turn 21, it's fine. THAT'S a confused message, not "if your parents say it's okay, you can have a drink." Wisconsin has a problem, but I doubt this is a major source of it.

I would leave the Wisconsin law just like it is except the can only drink with their parents if they are in the parking lot of a hospital emergency room!!! Yes, a ridiculous response to a ridiculous law.

Wow! As if underage drinking isn't bad enough. I believe this practice is a way to insure that alcohol companies will never have a recession and Wisconsin's bar will never run out of customers.

mutt, you're right about us not having the best system here. Many countries allow children to drink in restaurants with parents and I think that goes a long way to teaching kids how to drink responsibly, which should be a parent's ultimate goal when it comes to alcohol. Bars are a different environment, however. I'm also afraid that many parents are irresponsible (witness the horrific DUI in NY where a mother killed herself, 4 children, & 3 others) and, most importantly, that a law like in Wisconsin is unenforcible. Oh, if only we were all parents capable of teaching our children that alcohol can be used without being abused. We wouldn't need any laws at all. Have I ever let my daughters take a sip of wine at a restaurant table? Yes, discretely and without making a big deal out of it. I've never seen a cop or a waiter make a big deal either. And both my 16 and 21 year-old are very respectful of alcohol, their parents, and their own bodies.