<p>ah dropout, thankyou for mediating. What you see on MTV is obviously a dramatization of hat really happens. Also, us 18 year olds do not drive drunk. We know better than that and always have a DD. Driving drunk is probably the stupidest thing anyone could do so it is not even a concern for us here. yeah when I meant high stakes poker, I meant like 20 bucks max, normally we play for 10 haha. Another thing is that i do not lie to my parents, i just don’t have to tell them where I am. I think that a kid who has been restricted all of his or her life will want to do bad things because he or she has never been able to do them. A child with more freedom from his or her parents knows “life” better and ultimately is a more responsible individual, not having his or her parents tell him or her what to do. If i come home alive everyday without getting hurt or dying, my parents have done a good job teaching me about responsibilty.</p>
<p>The Dropout:
Welcome back. We haven’t chatted in a while. Actually, I wished you hadn’t drudged up this silly thread. I said I was done with it, and I wish to be. The issue, as I saw it, was simply that I don’t agree that sending 20 or more HS seniors unsupervised to the islands is a good idea. And I still don’t. Period. An adult around isn’t going to make them all walk together in a line holding hands. This isn’t kindergarten. Nor will an adult dampen all of their “fun”. The arguments against a “chaperone” simply didn’t hold water. I certainly don’t know where my s. is all the time, but when he was in HS he had the common courtsey to tell me. And if I asked, he told. No judgements on my part, and no secrets on his. We both like it like that. Do I think he has things he hasn’t told me. Of course. I’m no fool. But he has a level head on him. I am quite proud of that. He has earned my trust. Earned it.</p>
<p>To answer your question, you are right on the first front. I am a “neurosomething”. I do not need to research this stuff on the web. I live with it- day in and day out. Head injuries, brain injuries of all shapes and sizes. Many, MANY from teens who made careless or reckless decisions. Didn’t think it would happen to them. Just wanted to have fun. Thought they knew it all. Now they have to live with it. Sucks. </p>
<p>I actually give my kids a lot of space. However, trust, responsibility and freedom are earned. They aren’t inalienable rights. My s. was going to go off with friends on spring break (college) and we were fine with it. Plans fell apart, and now he and several of his friends are joining us skiing. Ironically, there were about 4 other of his friends who were going to join us, but their parents wanted them home for spring break. I promise you- I am not inflexible. “Reasonable” is my favorite word in the English dictionary.</p>
<p>If he and his friends want to spend time with us, great. If they want to go off on the slopes or into town, fine. I know if he needs us, he’ll call. And we’ll be right there.</p>
<p>oh-
PS–We’ve hosted poker night at our house frequently. Older s. used to have them here. Nickels, dimes and quarters.Still have plastic cups full of coins around the house. The kid who liked to raise them $20 or $50 wasn’t invited. Younger son uses the Poker set we bought for him.
Last thought-
The Dropout-- As for the flesheating bacteria-- it really WAS a problem off the coast of Texas this year. Hit the news several times. A bit more of a problem than the sharks off the coast of Fla a few yrs ago.I was using it (the flesh eating bacteria) here tongue-in-cheek, but since you’ve asked me in the past about the school my s. attends, I just thought I’d warn ya :)</p>