What do you think about parents who provide alcohol and marijuana to there underage children?

Question

Some parents provide alcohol to their underage children and even host parties where alcohol was provided to all underage kids. Also, there are some parents that smoke marijuana with their kids. Personally, I see this as a terrible message that condones the behavior and demonstrates a complete lack of parental responsibility.

Answer 1

I fully agree with you. These parents don't need to have their children in their care. They're not parents...they're just creators of life....just because they can make a baby doesn't mean they qualify to take care of one. I get so irked hearing these stories, and yeah, you actually hear of them quite often. Some parent using the lame excuse "well, I'd rather have them doing in at home where I know they're safe"....bullcrap. It's just that the parents live that kind of lifestyle and don't want the kids interuppting it so they just allow them to join so their kids think it's cool or whatever. It's a sad situation......

Answer 2

Under-age is a legal term applied to the public. It does not apply to the home. It's perfectly legal to let your kid have a taste of wine with dinner once a year.

That being said -- I don't approve. Parents have an "unspoken agreement" with other parents that they will uphold societies standards. Society does have different standards for different classes -- the very rich seem to have alcohol parties at the high school age -- the same with the very poor.

Middle class bears the burden of moral responsibility in this case.

Some may argue that they teach their child to drink responsibly (or smoke responsibly, I guess) by preparing them at home what the effects are. There is Zero Doubt that every single high school kid is going to try booze and weed at least once.

While I don't condone it personally, I do see some wisdom in letting your child experience the loss of control safely in the home instead of in an uncontrolled environment where they could really really hurt themselves.

The Law regarding alcohol is relatively a new one. And any law with "ethical and moral undertones" will be tested by those effected by the law. Age Limits are merely a small speed bump in life and easily disregarded. I am not sure when the age limits began but it can't be more than three generations -- so as a society our parental skills are not honed in this area either.

Happily, I don't have children -- so my response is mostly philosophical to help you a)grapple with the issue and b) look at it from different angles.

Good luck.

Answer 3

The theory, and one I do not completely agree with, is that, because teenagers usually find ways to get booze despite our best efforts to stop them, those parents are providing a safe atmosphere where they can limit the risk of drunk driving and other dangers. For those parents, and I have known a few over the years, they understand that people drink and don't want to foster an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. By the time I got to college I found that the kids whose parents were a little looser about booze were less inclined to go crazy when they got away from home and had increase access to alcohol. It was the kids whose parents were extremely strict who ended up getting into trouble with alcohol in their 20s.

My parents always had booze in the house but never got too out of control. As I got into my late-teens I was allowed to taste a little wine every now and then, but never to drink to excess. I don't believe that was a lack of parental responsibility.

I cannot speak to the question of people who smoke dope with their kids. I imagine that group is a very small minority of the parents out there.

Answer 4

Parents who condone parties where alcohol is served should just go to the police station and ask to be charged with contributing to the deliquency of a minor numerous times over. I am in my early twenties and honestly if I was introduced to alcohol earlier I probably would have been better off.

Answer 5

Well it all depends on your attitude & outlook of life. In my opinion, having been a teenager myself once, if an underage person wants to drink/smoke they are going to go & do it anyway. Now it's your choice whether they're out there doing it on the streets with no supervision at all or if you are prepared to let them do it in your home with adult supervision. Personally, I would rather know about it & be able to supervise because they're going to go & do it anyway, & even more so if you tell them they can't. Come on, you were a teenager once. I would much prefer my kids to be able to be open & honest with me than to lie & deceive me. I actually have friends who let their kids drink underage if they wanted to, but guess what, after a few times of drinking, & because they were alllowed to, they never actually bothered or wanted to. Half of the thrill is psychological. if you take that away from it by saying they can drink if they want, then you'll find that it doesn't seem so appealing to them anymore - reverse psychology. However, when I say letting them drink etc underage, I don't mean if they're really young. I'd say from about 14 years old.

Answer 6

I agree completly. I think any parent that would allow there kids and even provide it for them should be sent away forever and their kids taken away. I just had my first baby four months ago and I can not possible imagin why any one could hurt their child or teach them bad things. I think some people should not be allowed to have children they are the most presious gift anyone could ever get and yet some people dont see it that way.

Answer 7

While it is debatable as to parents providing the type of recreation to their own children as you describe, due to the possible chemical damage the activities can cause. However, it is definitely irresponsible for the parents to involve the children of other parents, in such activity without those parent's permission and understanding. Those other Parent should be at these activities as chaperones, if those other parents care.

I hope the parents know what they are doing and impart resposibility to their children, regardless of the activity they allow them to partake. More importantly, I hope the children are receptive to the message of the meaning of being mature & responsible.

Answer 8

i totally agree with you, these parents are leading their children down a road that will cause them problems later, the problem with the parents is that they never had any discipline as a child so they dont know what is wrong and right, personally i would take all these parents that are doing this to our future generation and lock them up and throw away the key. we are going to have some major problems with kids and adults later on if this kind of behavior keeps on happening

Answer 9

a couple of years ago, my daughter, 17 at the time, was at a party at a friends house, where the boyfriend of the mother, went and bought beer. Music up loud, and we live in the country, guess someone called the cops. Patty wagon arrives and everyone is put in it! Had to go to juvinille court where it was read that my daughter had zero alcohol in her system, so it was dropped, "mom take care of it?" by judge, Yes sir!!! My daughter got a taste of being locked up and let me tell you that scared her.. think parents who provide anything for minors, are irresponsible idiots who want to look "cool" to their kids and their friends, and all they are doing are teaching them to be irresponsible adults like themselves!!!!

Answer 10

It's more than that, it's against the law. The parents of the kids who were at that kind of party ought to call the cops and have these alledged parents taken to jail.