Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you think your teen has been to a party without alcohol, you've been duped.

So...I never went to parties with alcohol when I was a teen. I'm only 31 -- not like it was ages ago. Lots of my friends went, I was just introverted and not into that scene.

Just because you went to parties as a teen, doesn't mean everyone did!

Some parents seem to enjoy getting duped. Makes them feel superior perhaps.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone think of something to do that will make this more "real" to the kids than a memorial by the side of the road? What can one possibly do to have this terrible accident serve as a deterrent to other kids? other parents who condone drinking? Is there anything?

Have them watch the clip in one of the previous links, that should make a huge impact.

Kids watch this stuff all the time. They see it in health class at school. It gets discussed often from 6th grade forward. But, no, it doesn't just sink in. Teenagers are impulsive and don't think clearly when they are with friends and it's even worse when they are impaired by alcohol or drugs.

So what can stop them? This is my neighborhood. I know what many of the kids are doing and it's not pretty.

Parents can start discussing the sad reality, and stop hosting/allowing attendance to the parties.

Every time you know where there's going to be a party, just give the address to the cops to check on... if you care. If there are high school kids, I guarantee you, there's underaged drinking. Otherwise no one will go. Trust me.

If only one parent cared enough to let the cops check on that party, so much senseless tragedy would have been spared.
You can be anonymous.

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone think of something to do that will make this more "real" to the kids than a memorial by the side of the road? What can one possibly do to have this terrible accident serve as a deterrent to other kids? other parents who condone drinking? Is there anything?

Our HS put the mangled car on the front lawn of the school.

I think she's talking about the situation where your daughter says, "Yes, I know that every other party at my high school involves drinking but this one's the exception. Honestly, it will just be all the guys and girls from marching band and we're going to watch some movies and make popcorn and maybe somebody will make cookies." My sister used to convince my parents that there was a whole separate circle of alcohol-free parties that she was attending every weekend. And I would always say to my mom (I'm three years older): i would find that hard to believe, given that there weren't any such alcohol-free wholesome parties with the band when I was in high school. Of course my sister was lying and of course the parties had alcohol.

Anonymous wrote:If you think your teen has been to a party without alcohol, you've been duped.

So...I never went to parties with alcohol when I was a teen. I'm only 31 -- not like it was ages ago. Lots of my friends went, I was just introverted and not into that scene.

Just because you went to parties as a teen, doesn't mean everyone did!

If you think your teen has been to a party without alcohol, you've been duped.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone think of something to do that will make this more "real" to the kids than a memorial by the side of the road? What can one possibly do to have this terrible accident serve as a deterrent to other kids? other parents who condone drinking? Is there anything?

Have them watch the clip in one of the previous links, that should make a huge impact.

Kids watch this stuff all the time. They see it in health class at school. It gets discussed often from 6th grade forward. But, no, it doesn't just sink in. Teenagers are impulsive and don't think clearly when they are with friends and it's even worse when they are impaired by alcohol or drugs.

So what can stop them? This is my neighborhood. I know what many of the kids are doing and it's not pretty.

Lawsuits galore.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone think of something to do that will make this more "real" to the kids than a memorial by the side of the road? What can one possibly do to have this terrible accident serve as a deterrent to other kids? other parents who condone drinking? Is there anything?

Have them watch the clip in one of the previous links, that should make a huge impact.

Kids watch this stuff all the time. They see it in health class at school. It gets discussed often from 6th grade forward. But, no, it doesn't just sink in. Teenagers are impulsive and don't think clearly when they are with friends and it's even worse when they are impaired by alcohol or drugs.

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone think of something to do that will make this more "real" to the kids than a memorial by the side of the road? What can one possibly do to have this terrible accident serve as a deterrent to other kids? other parents who condone drinking? Is there anything?

Have them watch the clip in one of the previous links, that should make a huge impact.

Anonymous wrote:
Please don't allow your kids to attend parties that might have alcohol and/or drugs.

Reality:
"A party isn't a party without alcohol."

This is exactly why the teens know they not only can but *should* call me if they have any safety concerns. One has habitually been turning down invitations for 5 months now, because she no longer trusts her friend to not drink, and while she was willing to go with her, she got tired of calling me for a ride when the friend insisted she was ok to drive.

Most parents are still allowing their high school kids
to attend these parties.

When even the parents don't care,
why should the kids?

Think about it.

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone think of something to do that will make this more "real" to the kids than a memorial by the side of the road? What can one possibly do to have this terrible accident serve as a deterrent to other kids? other parents who condone drinking? Is there anything?

Our DD is too young to understand yet (she's 2), but once she gets old enough to understand, I plan to take her to the site every time there is a crash like this (sadly, seems to happen at least once a year) so it will sink in with her. The fire department posted photos on twitter of the mangled car, and I'd pull that up and show it to her also. I think being at the location helps for it to sink in.

Can anyone think of something to do that will make this more "real" to the kids than a memorial by the side of the road? What can one possibly do to have this terrible accident serve as a deterrent to other kids? other parents who condone drinking? Is there anything?

I hope it's a wake-up call to the Wootton parents who don't care their kids are drinking and drugging as long as the grades stay up.