<p>sorry, I should have been more clear. A visiting guest was taking the ritalin out of the cupboard. The kid that it was prescribed for was very reliable.</p>
<p>It’s a little scary when you think of what guests can help themselves to in our homes. My cousin found out that her son’s friends were stealing money from them when they visited her home, unbeknownst to her trusting son. It was devastating for him & the entire family to find out how untrustworthy his friends had been.</p>
<p>Two years ago, I had to have my gall bladder removed . I had some prescription pain killers in the house ( I think it was oxycodone )
My nanny of three yrs had her friend drive out here with her and she stayed with us for a few weeks. She seemed nice enough, until she helped herself to not only my toiletries ( my good shampoo and nice bath stuff mostly ) We sent her packing and after she left , noticed that she also took my pills and even left me with NO Motrin when I had some major cramps.
Nanny was humiliated and cut her ties with the parasite.</p>
<p>No, we don’t lock up alcohol. Have had a bazillion team sleepovers here during the past 15 years or so. No incidents so far! I do know what is in the house before kids are here and what is here afterwards. I am more concerned with backyard bonfires. They are big around here and very hard to keep track of who shows up and who is leaving.</p>
<p>Never been a sleepover fan for this and a myriad other reasons. I have heard of just way too much “no good” that kids get into when they are unsupervised overnight, and that includes really, really good kids too. We never locked up our miniscule amount of alcohol (a few beers, a few good wines), but we haven’t had an overnight here in a couple of years. The younger one expresses no interest in sleepovers, thankfully. I really hate them.</p>
<p>I do drink in front of my kids because it is very acceptable. It is not something I hide from my children. Have I ever been drunk, in front or behind my children, never (well, not since I became a responsible adult). Do I DWI, no. It is a plus to have our daughter with us sometimes if we’ve had some wine at dinner, she’s our designated driver.:)</p>
<p>I am not big on sleepovers either, especially with kids we don’t know too well. Luckily, our daughters also prefer their beds to other people’s couch or floor.</p>
<p>My European FIL put champagne in S1’s bottle (diluted) at his baptism (he was 11 mo. old)! My kids have always had access and been offered tastes, both at home and with grandparents where it was much more of a daily occurrence. H drinks occasionally and I drink half that often and almost never at home. We do cook with wine and kids have learned to appreciate that. </p>
<p>S1 used to come home from college parties disgusted by the way others were acting. As he progressed through college, he began to drink moderately with friends. Always called and stayed over if he had been drinking, as he knew we wouldn’t be upset with him for drinking but would be if he drove. </p>
<p>S2, the musician, was offered beer in h.s. when practicing with older musicians. Says he never took it, and I believe him, because he won’t even have a soft drink when he plays. Don’t know what he’ll do at college, but I doubt he’ll do more than taste, if that. He’s into energy drinks!</p>
<p>Fortunately, neither were into sleepovers and we rarely have prescription meds in the house. S1 had his appendix out this summer and the dr. gave him a prescription for Vicodin. Since I picked up the prescription, I didn’t think he really needed it (laparascopic surgery), so I only got 2 pills. He took neither.</p>
<p>First time S had a party freshmen year, several parents wanted to see the family room (where the party would be), asked about where our alcohol was (we didn’t have any except for the whiskey honey and lemon I use for winter coughs) and if we had guns - no. I was suprised at first but then figured these people had no clue who we were. This happened several times as new people came to parties.</p>
<p>I have never locked up the alcohol-we keep the hard stuff in a pretty weird place, but we have tons of wine bottles in the laundry room area. My H drinks a glass of wine at night when he comes home from work-I do not drink at all.
So far, I haven’t been concerned about my kids’ friends but perhaps I should be. Their freshman year in high school they went to a post-theater cast party and later told me that the main area for all the kids was a downstairs rec room right near the parents’ bar. :rolleyes: Yes, a bunch of the kids were drinking, unbeknown to the parents. No, I never permitted my kids to go back to that house.</p>
<p>Honestly, it sounds like a lot of your children might be lying to you. If it really is true that all of your children dislike alcohol and do not drink, that’s great! But, as a teenager, I find it hard to believe. There is a lot more drinking going on than parents want to believe and they should probably be a little more suspicious. I am so grateful that my parents were nosey and always asked questions when I was in high school. They would let my sister and I drink with them and it really did teach us good drinking habits so that when we got to college, we were safe and responsible. I’m not saying you should all be locking up your liquor, but atleast be aware of how much alcohol you have and check it regularly. Despite my parents being all in my business and trying to keep me from drinking with friends, a large portion of the alcohol we drank came from our parents’ houses.</p>
<p>Murmur- when my son was young I had a mother ask about guns before her son came to play. This same Mom assured me the first time my son went to her house that she did not allow the boys to play any sort of play where they used weapons.
The alcohol is still sitting in my laundry basket! I am going to have my H clean it out before we put it back in the cupboard. We have stuff in there that hadn’t been touched in years. Including a open bottle of Ouzo that we bought on a trip to Greece when we were 22! If we haven’t finished it yet I think it can go down the drain. I will look into the possiblity of putting a lock on that cabinet.
I actually hate sleepovers and rarely have them at my house. This was a rare event that went from 1 girl to 4 before I knew what I was doing. I do think that even smart kids when in a group can sometimes make poor decisions. I doubt that the kids would have gotten into the alcohol and as I said I would have not thought of it if the other Mom hadn’t asked.
I have concerns about one friend. I actually know the girl well and like her. She isn’t wild or fast just sort of lost. I worry that she is going to one day have a problem. Genetics and her disposition and low self esteem. The kid who feels so uncomfortable in her skin that she might turn to alcohol to medicate herself. I haven’t limited my D’s exposure to her but am aware and try to have the time they spend together to be productive, physical or with family. I also talk with the Mom.
After attending a talk at the high school several yrs ago I don’t keep any painkillers in the house. Like several others I get violently ill from them so rarely use them. The times I have been prescribed something stronger I used a few pills. I used to keep the old pharmacy bottles in the cupboard but finally last yr disposed of all the old meds.
I also counted the adderall when my son was in high school. On only one occasion did I notice that the bottle had obviously been raided by a guest. After that I kept the meds in my room in a safe place.</p>
<p>" was suprised at first but then figured these people had no clue who we were. This happened several times as new people came to parties."</p>
<p>Sounds like your S has some friends with some very caring, involved parents.</p>
<p>I was surprised to find out how few of my S’s friends bothered to call or find out anything before their kids came over to parties. These were kids who were in a magnet academic program, and many of their parents were professionals, including college professors.</p>
<p>One even dropped her kid off an hour and a half early – without letting us know in advance. They didn’t know my family from Adam.</p>
<p>It was very shocking to me.</p>
<p>NorthMinnesota, the bonfire thing is becoming huge here as well. I am not a fan, but have allowed D to attend a few. She wanted us to get a big firepit for our backyard so she could have more friends over. We have a small portable firepit that she has used for small get-togethers with close friends (max of 6 or 8 kids that we know well), and we told her we’re not getting a bigger one, because I don’t feel like picking beer cans out of the woods.</p>
<p>Around where we live there are a lot of houses with pool and pool house(party room) a mile away from the main house. Even when parents said they are going to be home, I ask if they are actually going to be at the pool house. Some people have been offened, but that’s not my problem.</p>
<p>We do pickup and drop off to parties(or carpool with other parents) until they are old enough to drive themselves - no hitching rides with friends. I wait up for them whenever they are out. The ultimate test is I expect them to talk to me for 15 minutes after they get back and they have to kiss me good night. My kids know it’s my smell test. There has been many nights when we have cancelled our night out in order to drive them, so they know we take their safety very seriously.</p>
<p>Twice with sleep overs, we have seen sampling of a beer or a flavoured girly drink, the problem for the kids was that I don’t drink much, know exactly how much was there and they put their bottle in the recycle bin ;)</p>
<p>Recycle bin - at least they were green, that’s priceless.</p>
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<p>Maybe I must be an exception. My parents drink around me all the time. I do think alcohol consumption is acceptable, but not because of them. My mom does not drink much, only once in a blue moon. She’s a health freak. My dad is a much more heavy drinker, and he will go to parties, get drunk, and drive home drunk. I have learned that his behavior is extremely irresponsible and dangerous. Whenever he goes to a friend’s house to drink or goes to a party, I offer to drive him home. Sometimes I go with him to the party and sometimes I just go and pick him up when he calls and says he’s ready to go home. When I’m at the party is when I really learn how stupid people can be. They all drink excessive amounts of alcohol, an unhealthy amount. Some start passing out, but others don’t. There is a lot of peer pressure to get people to drink more. Someone will say “who’s up for a shot?” Some people will object at first, but the guy asking tries as hard as he can to persuade them, always saying something like “just one more! this is the last one.” And then he gets more people to have a shot with him. Then that “just one more” turns into a few more, and in no time everyone gets hammered. lol And they just act so stupid. It is nothing I would ever want to do. I just see it as an opportunity to learn how not to act responsibly. What’s worse is that some people have no designated driver and try to drive home drunk. They all seem to get away with it, too. They don’t get DUI charges, so they think they can escape the law and they keep doing it. That’s what is really sad because one day one of them could screw up and end up killing his or her self and even someone else.</p>
<p>I find getting drunk and smoking completely unacceptable for health and other reasons, but I have learned that drinking responsibly is fine and can’t do much harm.</p>