How much further back in time did youth alcohol consumption become a problem?

Pre-history

I live in the Midwest where dry towns became popular post WW2 when men came home from war, beating wives and kids, so local officials starting limiting the sale of alcohol. (As told to me by elders at historical society.)

I agree with pre-history. Basically as soon as someone “invented” it; wine was probably was first.

Life before it was banned to minors? Buncha drunk kiddos running around.

I have friend in the UK (he just turned 65) that remembers going to the pub and if you were tall enough to put your money on the bar, you got served.

When my brother was about 2 years old he saw our dad drinking beer from a bottle, so he asked for it. My dad gave it to him and he drank up the last few ounces of the bottle. Walked around drunk afterwards. We all laughed. This was in the mid-70’s in Thailand.

Probably when we decided no to let children drink under a certain age. Many other countries have no such laws. Parents ruled in the home, not strangers in a far away city. I don’t drink so I let my kids taste the nasty stuff when they were pretty young. It was never a problem. They became social drinkers age appropriately without a bunchy of discussion and rules in their childhood.