<p>In my town, there are parents who permit alcohol at parties at their house. I personally think they’re nuts because a couple in the next town are currently doing jail time on weekends for serving underage kids at a party at their home (two of the kids died in an accident on the way home). But because of this, I WILL call to see if alcohol is being served or permitted. If they lie to me, I have to rely on my children to have good sense. So far, so good. I’ve gotten called from a party where D wanted a ride home because she wouldn’t ride with other kids. My friend’s D called her to come help with kids who were sick at a big party where the parents weren’t home.</p>
<p>The more common thing around here is a party where the parents say no alcohol but the kids smuggle it in. They get very creative. My D hasn’t had a big party yet, just small ones for her friends, none of whom drink (yet). My friend who has a D a couple years older has had a couple big parties at her house. She doesn’t serve or permit alcohol, and the rule is that the kids have to spend the night and she collects their keys at the door and doesn’t give them back until the following morning. I am fairly certain the kids have snuck alcohol into these parties (hidden ahead of time above the basement ceiling tiles, hidden inside a large stuffed animal, disguised as water in a water bottle). Unless the parents are going to sit in the same room with the kids, which no one around here does, where there’s a will there’s a way. I think we have to teach our children as best as we can because we will have to rely on them to do the right thing in some situations.</p>