"Parents that host....lose the most" (Augusta: how much, buying)

[inthetrees]

Saw this sign earlier today leaving Augusta on the side of the road. Not sure what good this policy does....It only encourages kids to drink and drive. We don't have any kids yet and not sure if we ever will, however I dont see any logical point in this law. Kids are gonna drink somewhere, why would you punish the parents if they are supervising and ensuring no one drives drunk?

I'm not saying the parents need to provide alcohol, but this law does more harm than good.

If the kids drink at a party and leave and drive drunk, then punish the host as if they were a bar if you really want too, however even then personal responsability goes out the window.... why not just punish the person that drove drunk?

[mainebrokerman]

the state and many believe these parties are very permissive towards drinking and underage teens

I have a son over the age of a teenager,, and my views have changed on this- I would also rather have a controlled party where no one will be driving

every year, teens die because of drinking and driving-
id rather have my kid at a controlled overnight party than in a car where they or some other kid is driving after drinking..

[Christinerica]

How can a parent, a guardian of a persons life that is just beginning, allow a bacchanal with no restraint, no repercussions, no sense of responsibility to occur within eyesight? The parent is supposed to be a parent not a drinking buddy.

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by Christinerica

How can a parent, a guardian of a persons life that is just beginning, allow a bacchanal with no restraint, no repercussions, no sense of responsibility to occur within eyesight? The parent is supposed to be a parent not a drinking buddy.

no one disagrees

I never had one of these parties at my place- for my son and friends- how do you monitor ages, binge drinking, irresponsible behavior,,, someone getting sick, hurt,etc.

however, I was also lucky,, I had a son that usually made good choices, and didn't drive drunk-
but again,, one of every parents worst nightmare is getting a call in the middle of the night- saying their kid was in a crash or worse.... because of drinking and driving..
Ive been to funerals of kids that were drinking and driving- worst thing ive ever been to

ive also witnessed firsthand kids going off to college and going nuts, partying and drinking, because parents were way too strict (as the kid says) so it was new to them... and because they got to drinking and partying,,,their grades suffered.. and eventually dropped out

no black and white answers to this

as a teen,, I was very lucky,,, I didn't smash up a car, or get caught drinking and driving..
,.....I like most of my friends would tell the parents they'd be on an overnight at a friends house, then out drinking at a popular parking spot..we all had cars and driving

[inthetrees]

Originally Posted by Christinerica

How can a parent, a guardian of a persons life that is just beginning, allow a bacchanal with no restraint, no repercussions, no sense of responsibility to occur within eyesight? The parent is supposed to be a parent not a drinking buddy.

so telling the kids they cant drink... they just wont drink right?

How bout telling them if they drink and do something dumb, they will have to face the consequences.

[Christinerica]

Yes, are you not the authority in your home? Are all on equal footing, that is a ship bound for the reef.

Perhaps an opium den or a internship with those on congress st or prebble st?

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by Christinerica

Yes, are you not the authority in your home? Are all on equal footing, that is a ship bound for the reef.

Perhaps an opium den or a internship with those on congress st or prebble st?

Do you have a teenager?

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by inthetrees

so telling the kids they cant drink... they just wont drink right?

How bout telling them if they drink and do something dumb, they will have to face the consequences.

Nah, doesn't matter. Kids are gonna do what kids are gonna do, and no matter how you try to stop them, they will find a way to do it if they want to.

I had my first taste of alcohol when I was 12, more than 40 years ago but I still remember the pre-teen and teen years. Nothing anyone said or did could stop me. I was 14 the first time I went into a bar, and the same age the first time I got really, really drunk (party in the woods) (I rarely did *that* again). At 16, I was buying my own booze at the store and going to bars...and driving. Got bagged once, between 2 and 3AM coming back from a bar with a buddy in my old man's truck (at 16), going like heck up a dirt road. Cop was a friend of my old man, he looked at my license and the reg and asked where we were headed. I told him we were going to my buddy's house- he threw the lic and reg at me and said "Get there, park the truck and don't let me catch you on the road again tonight." I was more scared of him telling my old man than I was about anything the 'Law' would have done...though, AFAIK, he never did tell him. I was a lot more careful after that- both in how much I was drinking AND about acting stupid on the road.

Things were a little different back then- small towns and [relatively] sparse populations, the law was handled a little differently and the cops weren't all gung-ho to lock up everybody who had a little sip of something...now, first we had the PSAs about 'drunk driving' and, more recently, the ones about 'buzzed driving'- makes me angry, it isn't going to stop the hard-core drinkers or the kids, all it does it cause people like myself to not go out and patronize bars and restaurants because of too much worry that the Gestapo is going to ruin your life if you go out to eat and have a couple of drinks.

Might be better, if the first time a kid has a drink, to do it under supervision and let them get good and stupid, stinking, puking drunk under controlled conditions where they can be watched and protected. After the first time I did that, It was a loooooooong time before I did that again (it was was actually accidental, a few years ago, and I was at home...damn I hate puking).

[Christinerica]

kids that didn't have Budweiser for roommates.

[Mooseghanistan]

It's the Massachusetts mentality creeping northward, too many think laws are the answer but those in their right mind know that the best solution to problems is dealing with them directly... and that means breaking the law to keep their kids safe.