Irresponsible parents encourage teen drinking

February 2, 2010 • written by Margaret Cross  
Filed under Features

“If we’re old enough to serve in the army, we should be old enough to drink alcohol.”
“We used to be allowed to drink as soon as we turned 18. Why can’t it be like it was?”
“All my friends’ parents let them drink! Why won’t you let me?”

Occasionally, teenagers will complain to their parents about not being allowed to drink. Many times the parents have the strength of conviction to refuse every single time. However, as American social norms change, adults are becoming less able to say “no” to their kids in cases regarding alcohol.

Some parents in America allow their teenagers to serve beer at parties as long as the guests do not leave after they have arrived and consumed alcohol. This practice is supposed to prevent drunk driving and occurs most often around prom season and graduation, when students believe that consuming alcohol is a rite of passage.

“Teens would [ask parents to serve alcohol at a party] and might put it into the context to their parents, ‘Well, I’m going to do it anyway, so wouldn’t you feel safer if I did it here?’” criminal justice teacher Leonard Rovery said.

Teens are also convincing their parents to provide beer for regular occasions such as birthday parties. In 2002, a mother from Virginia provided beer and wine for her son’s 16th birthday party. Now she is in the middle of a 27-month sentence which began in 2007—a sentence much lighter than the original eight-year jail time she was originally assigned.

Although the reason for the reduced sentence is not directly stated, Susan Filan, the senior legal analyst for MSNBC News, believes the court was thinking of the parent’s nonexistent criminal background.

“When a court issues its sentence, the court has to consider not just the illegal conduct, but the person and her life as a whole,” Filan said, “all of her circumstances, including the impact the sentence will have on her family, in this case, her two teenage sons.”

Why would parents encourage their children to drink alcohol knowing full well the adverse effects the substance has on a person’s body?

“I think they’re trying to be their friend,” Bartlett police officer Oscar May said. “They don’t want to be a parent; they want to be a friend.”

Another big question that some people may have is this: How do parents who enable teen drinking habits get away with contributing to the delinquency of a minor?

“Nobody’s going to tell on them,” Bartlett police officer Scott Harper said. “The kids aren’t going to tell. Normally, the way we get involved is, the neighbors or somebody calls, saying there’s a bunch of teenagers hanging out next door. Then the police get there and investigate.”

As some parents in the United States continue to serve their kids alcohol, other adults are taking action to ensure that teenagers will have a harder time gaining access to alcoholic substances.

In 2000, an organization in Ohio called the Drug-Free Action Alliance began a campaign called “Parents Who Host Lose the Most” to spread the word that allowing teenagers to consume alcohol in one’s home is illegal. The consequences vary from state to state, depending on the specific stipulations of what are called “social host liability laws.” The gist is that the host of a party where alcohol is present is responsible for the well-being of all guests, both those who do and who do not drink any alcohol.

“I’ve heard of it [parents letting teens drink] probably a couple times a year,” May said. “We arrest them for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and then the parents are put on probation for about six months to a year.”

According to the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole (BPP), the conditions of probation are decided by the will of the court hearing the offense of the defendant. These conditions may include random drug tests, curfew checks, and visits to the probationer’s home.

Crimes of this nature occur in other parts of the country, as well. In 2005, a couple from Rhode Island hosted a teen drinking party for their son who had just graduated from high school. They, like the mother from Virginia, required that nobody leave. They had hoped that this one rule would prevent drunk driving and other alcohol-related accidents from occurring. However, later that night the police came and busted up the party, and the father was arrested a week later.

However, teens who think that parents are the only people to blame are in for a shock. The teenagers who have been drinking are also punishable by law.

“They’ll be charged with minor possession of alcohol,” May said. “Usually, it stays on their record as a juvenile. The first offense is usually a probationary period, usually sixth months to a year. If they stay out of trouble, it usually goes off their record. There’s a heightened charge if they do it again while on probation.”

The “heightened charge” that May mentioned may be as severe as the judge canceling “probation status and send[ing] the offender to prison to serve the full suspended sentence, with no credit given for time on probation,” according to the BPP.

To Kansas native Debbie Riggs, whose son Paul died three weeks after driving drunk in 2002, the action that the parents from Virginia and Rhode Island presented seems childish and ignorant.

“These people who say, ‘Well, we take their keys, and we make sure that they don’t leave,’ that to me is just a fallacy,” Riggs said. “Did I give you permission to take those risks with my child?”

Not only other parents, but also many teens disapprove of parents who host beer bashes for their teen-aged children.

“I don’t think parents should let their kids do it,” senior Clay Hillyard said.

However, other teens have a laxer view toward alcohol.

“If parents are there, kids should be able to do it,” senior Seth Yepes said. “Parents need to have control over their kids. If you don’t have control over your kids, you shouldn’t be having kids.”

Despite conflicting views on the subject, the verdict of President Barack Obama is that the legal drinking age will remain the same. Nevertheless, disgruntled teens will continue to fight for what they consider their right to consume alcohol at the same time they become legal adults.