Would you let your teen go to the beach with another family?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, a parent willing to take all those people to the beach is not planning to supervise much if at all. You can tell by the number of kids the parent is allowing to go. I'd frankly be more worried about riptides and drownings.

Drownings?!?

They are teens. Do you supervise them at all times?!?!

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/images/databriefs/401-450/db413-fig1.png

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, a parent willing to take all those people to the beach is not planning to supervise much if at all. You can tell by the number of kids the parent is allowing to go. I'd frankly be more worried about riptides and drownings.

Drownings?!?

They are teens. Do you supervise them at all times?!?!

NP - When they’re in something as powerful and unpredictable as the ocean, then yes, I would want them supervised at all times. Even though they’re aware of the dangers and have been to the beach, they haven’t spent enough time there for the relevant safety skills/awareness to be fully integrated like their safety skills/awareness of being in a city. Add in the distractions of a bunch of teenage friends who may be even less focused on safety and I think there is reason for concern. Are all the kids strong swimmers? Have the hosting parents even bothered to check? Even though my kids can swim, if their friend gets in trouble and starts to panic, they’re not prepared to safely rescue someone. Lifeguards are great, but if a beach is packed, they might not catch everything. It’s not like a pool where there is a limited area to watch, controlled conditions, and there’s always someone nearby.

These kids aren’t graduating seniors about to head off to college, they just finished junior high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, a parent willing to take all those people to the beach is not planning to supervise much if at all. You can tell by the number of kids the parent is allowing to go. I'd frankly be more worried about riptides and drownings.

Drownings?!?

They are teens. Do you supervise them at all times?!?!

NP - When they’re in something as powerful and unpredictable as the ocean, then yes, I would want them supervised at all times. Even though they’re aware of the dangers and have been to the beach, they haven’t spent enough time there for the relevant safety skills/awareness to be fully integrated like their safety skills/awareness of being in a city. Add in the distractions of a bunch of teenage friends who may be even less focused on safety and I think there is reason for concern. Are all the kids strong swimmers? Have the hosting parents even bothered to check? Even though my kids can swim, if their friend gets in trouble and starts to panic, they’re not prepared to safely rescue someone. Lifeguards are great, but if a beach is packed, they might not catch everything. It’s not like a pool where there is a limited area to watch, controlled conditions, and there’s always someone nearby.

These kids aren’t graduating seniors about to head off to college, they just finished junior high.

+1. I would want my kid supervised as well. Not every kid was on the swim team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes- I would probably aplow this.

How old is this brother and his friends?
I don’t see 16/17 yo being super interested in some 8th graders.

I have kids with this same age differential and there isn’t a lot of cross interest between them when with their friends. Only when my older one is without her friends does she even deign to engage with her little sister and sisters friends.

This is naive. Depends on the kids. But some girls that age have looked like they are 18 since they've been 12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, a parent willing to take all those people to the beach is not planning to supervise much if at all. You can tell by the number of kids the parent is allowing to go. I'd frankly be more worried about riptides and drownings.

This. And this is what I thought this post was going to be about. I am so, so much more worried about the dangers of the ocean than teen drinking or boys or something.

Same here. I don’t see how they’re going to safely supervise this many kids.

[Anonymous]

I would if they weren’t taking so many extra teens. I was at Myrtle Beach last year and a 32 year old drowned trying to help his cousin get back to shore from the riptides. Lifeguards were on duty. The beach can be dangerous. This situation is asking for trouble.

[Anonymous]

I would genuinely be concerned about the parents' judgement to invite 8 unrelated kids on a beach trip. That is not a reasonable or safe group to supervise at a beach location (water, who know what they get up to, mixed gender, etc...).

It would be a no for us.

[Anonymous]

I have hosted in this exact situation: teen son (16) with a couple friends, teen DD (14) with a friend. I cannot overemphasize how innocent a time it was. The two groups were polite to each other and we ate meals together, but the last thing DS and his friends want to do is hang out with DD and her friend. I think if you know the kids and your gut tells you it’s OK and the parents are responsible, it’s fine. But it REALLY depends on the vibe of the group of kids.

[Anonymous]

Be brave enough to protect your daughter. Yes, you will have door slamming, tears and whining, but you know it is impossible to properly supervise so many teens. No phone call to the parents could possible assuage my fears; as others have mentioned, just the sheer number of invites tells you all you need to know. Even parents not of the helicopter variety should be worried about the liability involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, a parent willing to take all those people to the beach is not planning to supervise much if at all. You can tell by the number of kids the parent is allowing to go. I'd frankly be more worried about riptides and drownings.

Drownings?!?

They are teens. Do you supervise them at all times?!?!

It’s the ocean Linda, not the local club pool. Here’s a little light reading for you. And teens get even more boneheaded in groups.

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-play/Pages/Water-Safety-for-Older-Children.aspx#:~:text=Teen%20drowning%20risk%20increases%20in,ponds%20and%20other%20natural%20water.

[Anonymous]

I would reach out to the parents, ask questions about whatever it is that concerns you and go from there. For me I would probably say yes if I knew the parents well and a no otherwise.

[Anonymous]

I take friends to the beach every time and I never watch them in the water. I let the parents know up front they are mainly unsupervised. We have a house in OCNJ and it’s a dry town and the teens have full range of the island on their bikes.

They can’t swim after lifeguards finish at 5:30pm and an 11pm curfew. We usually meet up for dinners and they sometimes sit with us at the beach.

They are 16 and 18 this year and will do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, a parent willing to take all those people to the beach is not planning to supervise much if at all. You can tell by the number of kids the parent is allowing to go. I'd frankly be more worried about riptides and drownings.

Drownings?!?

They are teens. Do you supervise them at all times?!?!

NP - When they’re in something as powerful and unpredictable as the ocean, then yes, I would want them supervised at all times. Even though they’re aware of the dangers and have been to the beach, they haven’t spent enough time there for the relevant safety skills/awareness to be fully integrated like their safety skills/awareness of being in a city. Add in the distractions of a bunch of teenage friends who may be even less focused on safety and I think there is reason for concern. Are all the kids strong swimmers? Have the hosting parents even bothered to check? Even though my kids can swim, if their friend gets in trouble and starts to panic, they’re not prepared to safely rescue someone. Lifeguards are great, but if a beach is packed, they might not catch everything. It’s not like a pool where there is a limited area to watch, controlled conditions, and there’s always someone nearby.

These kids aren’t graduating seniors about to head off to college, they just finished junior high.

+1. I would want my kid supervised as well. Not every kid was on the swim team.

At the beach, yes. My kid is a team kid but we rarely go to the beach. The water with waves and swells is very different than pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I take friends to the beach every time and I never watch them in the water. I let the parents know up front they are mainly unsupervised. We have a house in OCNJ and it’s a dry town and the teens have full range of the island on their bikes.

They can’t swim after lifeguards finish at 5:30pm and an 11pm curfew. We usually meet up for dinners and they sometimes sit with us at the beach.

They are 16 and 18 this year and will do the same.

It’s good that you are honest about it. This would be a hard no from me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, a parent willing to take all those people to the beach is not planning to supervise much if at all. You can tell by the number of kids the parent is allowing to go. I'd frankly be more worried about riptides and drownings.

Drownings?!?

They are teens. Do you supervise them at all times?!?!

NP - When they’re in something as powerful and unpredictable as the ocean, then yes, I would want them supervised at all times. Even though they’re aware of the dangers and have been to the beach, they haven’t spent enough time there for the relevant safety skills/awareness to be fully integrated like their safety skills/awareness of being in a city. Add in the distractions of a bunch of teenage friends who may be even less focused on safety and I think there is reason for concern. Are all the kids strong swimmers? Have the hosting parents even bothered to check? Even though my kids can swim, if their friend gets in trouble and starts to panic, they’re not prepared to safely rescue someone. Lifeguards are great, but if a beach is packed, they might not catch everything. It’s not like a pool where there is a limited area to watch, controlled conditions, and there’s always someone nearby.

These kids aren’t graduating seniors about to head off to college, they just finished junior high.

+1. I would want my kid supervised as well. Not every kid was on the swim team.

Maybe it’s because my experience is with Pacific Ocean beaches—but on my beach trips the extent of going into the water was just maybe going to where you’re knee deep. I’d see a few people actually swimming but for the most part the beach vibe was the main draw. Not actually swimming in the ocean.