Underage drinking
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- July
- 16
Last month, my neighbor and I hosted a high-school graduation party that stretched across both our backyards. We decided to offer alcohol to the parents  but only in my neighbor’s backyard, which had been designated the “adult side.’’
That didn’t mean we weren’t worried.
As parents of high-schoolers, we know kids don’t wait till they’re 21 to drink  and that there was a good chance some of those kids would try to grab a beer from the “adult side” and carry it over to my backyard.
As this “story in The Journal News”:http://www.nynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070713/NEWS02/707130430 points out, if those kids were found drinking in my backyard, I could have ended up in a lot of trouble.
Last week, a Somers couple and their 24-year-old son were charged with allowing underage kids to consume alcohol at the graduation party they hosted at their house. As it turns out, an 18-year-old girl wandered away from the party, collapsed outside and was treated at a hospital for excessive alcohol consumption.
The Somers parents were charged, authorities said, because they did nothing to stop the drinking. Even if they hadn’t provided the alcohol, they were still responsible.
For parents of high-school and college kids, this is pretty sobering news. We can be upstairs watching television and if our kids are drinking in the den or the backyard, we can still be held responsible  even if those kids showed up with their own six-pack.
So what do you think? Should parents be prosecuted if underage drinking goes on in their home?
This entry was posted
on Monday, July 16th, 2007 at 2:14 pm by Linda Lombroso.
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Baby boomer Linda Lombroso was born in Queens and grew up in Port Washington. She began her journalism career at New York Magazine and Rolling Stone, and came back to the field after spending 10 years as a stay-at-home mother. Linda joined The Journal News in 1997 and has been a Life & Style writer since 2000. She has three children.
Only if the drinker is your own kid. or the child’s parents are there giving permission. and it isnt a wild blow out party but a small function. Otherwise. No,no,no. Parents should never allow under aged drinking at their home. Recipe for disaster.
Those parents unfortunately are learning that it isnt a great idea to have a house party for your kids.
seems like a rehash of earlier blog where parents are trying to be their kids’ “friend”