Is it really safer?

  Many people question whether it is safer to allow teens to drink under adult supervision.  For those who do this in their own home with their own teenage child --personally I don’t agree with it-- but as long as you don’t let them out drunk, it is your business. It becomes other citizen’s concern, when you allow kids that are not your own to consume alcohol behind the closed doors of your home or on your property.

  I’ve heard well-meaning people say things like: You can’t stop them from drinking, so I will take responsibility and collect everyone’s keys when they get here. I will park my recliner by the front door and stay up all night with a good book.

  Aside from the fact that you’re breaking the law if you provide alcohol and you’re giving teens the impression that it is safe and acceptable to use alcohol at their age, it sounds reasonable...or does it?

  Before you set out to become the coolest parent in your hometown, you should know that teens in social gatherings tend to binge drink and get drunk so you might want to consider a few of the negative variables that could take place before you surrender to this flawed line of thinking.

• What if you doze off momentarily and someone slips past your watchful eyes?
• What if they slip out through an alternate door or window?
• What if they overpower you and take their keys and get on the road and kill themselves or someone else?
• What if they’ve taken medication prescribed for them or over the counter pain relievers before they arrived that don’t mix with alcohol?
• What if someone starts a fight and seriously injures or kills someone?
• What if they sexually assault someone while you’re parked by the front door and unable to hear due to the loud music?
• What if they get drunk and pop some pills someone brought with them or they find in your medicine cabinet?
• What if a couple of guests send a text to their friends, who send a text to their friends and suddenly your party of 20 becomes 200?
• What if they don’t know when to stop and overdose in your home?

  Are you prepared to deal with the answers to these questions?

 

  My son died in a house where adults were present. 

  Is it really safer?