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Don't Give Teens Alcohol -- Period!
By Barbara Cooke
What to do if you find out that your teen is going to a party where parents are serving alcohol? "You can say, 'You can't go,' or you can call the parents and remind them in a non-confrontational way that when neighbors call the police and their children are arrested, it's embarrassing and legally costly to parents," says Smith. "When police come to break up a party, everyone is arrested, even those who are not drinking. Some parents even call the police and ask them to call the parents and remind them what the consequences could be."
Adults who serve alcohol are playing economic Russian Roulette, Creagh says. "I say to them, 'If you can't dig deep and find the moral backbone to refuse to serve alcohol to your teenagers and their friends, then at least look at the legal ramifications that could cost you all your money. Maybe that will pound some sense into your head.'"
"Parents are supposed to have arrived at maturity, while kids are supposed to be passing through adolescence on the way to adulthood. You can empathize, but you don't have to join your teen," Kendrick says. "They need you to point them in the right direction and keep them safe. You're supposed to give them wisdom, not a keg party in the basement."
