Parents take Risk in Holding Student Drinking Parties at Home
Many parents are compromising with their teenagers to prevent drinking and driving. For events like proms, graduations, and other celebrations, some parents are allowing their teens to have drinking parties at home, the Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 14. "Parents either think the drinking is unstoppable, so they make a curious compromise with it, or they see drinking as a rite of passage to adulthood," said psychologist Michael Thompson, of Arlington, Mass., who has written several books on child rearing. "They don't want to deprive their kids of the opportunity but want to keep them safe." In West Warwick, R.I., for example, William and Patricia Anderson suggested a senior prom celebration at their home when they heard that their son, Gregg, was planning an all-night beer blast at a local beach. On the evening of the party, Mr. Anderson took the car keys from 34 teens. He supervised the celebration, which included drinking games like "keg stands" and downing beer from a 16-inch "yard glass" that holds about 24 ounces. Mr. Anderson also took responsibility when police officers showed up at his house at 4:30 a.m. in response to a noise complaint. He was arrested for providing liquor to minors, but the charges were later dropped. Anderson is like many parents throughout the country who think that teen drinking is inevitable. "We knew the chances we were taking," said Mr. Anderson, 50. "We knew the party was probably flouting the law one way or the other. But we aren't trying to make a statement. We aren't trying to take a stance. We simply said, 'We aren't just going to let our kids go out drinking and driving, because we are the ones who will have to live with it later on -- live with knowing we didn't do what we did -- if somebody got hurt." According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2,395 teens died last year in alcohol-related car crashes. Many anti-drinking groups disagree with the strategy that the Andersons and other parents are taking to deal with underage drinking and driving. "We want parents to understand that underage drinking is not just kids being kids, or a rite of passage. It is a serious -- even deadly -- problem," said Wendy Hamilton, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), which advocates zero tolerance for underage drinking. Last year, a report from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, which are part of the National Academies that provide advice to the government under a congressional charter, recommended that parents take a greater role in policing their teens' drinking. "Parents view youth drinking as an inevitable part of adolescence and do not make sure that parties their children attend are alcohol free and properly supervised by adults," the report said. Even the alcohol industry has begun putting pressure on parents to curb underage drinking. "We believe the best way to continue the progress made in the fight against underage drinking is through education, especially involving parents," said Francine Katz, vice president for communications and consumer affairs for Anheuser-Busch Cos. However, a nationwide survey of 2,019 adults conducted in May by Harris Interactive and the Wall Street Journal found that 23 percent of the respondents said parents in their area allowed their older teens to attend parties where there was drinking but where a parent was present. Thompson said that parents who allow their underage children to drink "are sending a dangerous message that following the law is a matter of individual taste." He added, "I can't take issue with parents who let their own children drink at a family function, but those who allow other teens to drink in their homes are taking a huge risk."
Sources:
Alcohol Articles
Related Categories
|
