If your 13 yr. old drank like less than a cup of whiskey and tequila, what would you do?

Question

my son and his friend went in the liquor cabinet and drank the whiskey and tequila. there was barely a
1\2 of inch in each bottle. He was braggin to his friends that he got 'drunk' but was really a buzz...I punished him frome th computer for 2 weeks and a BIG dance that he has been waiting for for about 3 weeks. Am I being too harsh? What should I do?

My son is EXTREMELY intellegent. He is in the gifed program,staright A's, County student of the year...He has begged and i can tell he is truely sorry. Also, his friend's parents were notefied and his friend has absolutely no punishment. This is what is causing me to have doubts on his punishment.

Answer 1

YOU ARE NOT BEING TO HARSH..I'D HAVE ALSO GROUNDED D HIM FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR....

Answer 2

You are not being too harsh. And everyone saying that you are bad because you weren't hard enough should pull their heads in. Just make your son understand that it wasn't only the stealing and the underage drinking but also the abuse of your trust. Your son has to know too that the way his friends parents choose to discipline ( or not ) their children is not up to you and that he is your child and you will punish him as you see fit. Whatever you do though do not back down once you have dealt a punishment. If you said he could not go to the dance don't let him go. That way he will understand that if he does the wrong thing he will be punished. I would also think about leaving him alone (or with friends) at home for awhile so that he can learn that he must earn your trust back. Maybe 13 is too young to be left unsupervised.

Answer 3

I don't think your punishment is harsh enough. If that were my child, he'd be sitting in a room with no TV, computer, video games, NOTHING for at least a month. Forget about the other parents. You need to worry about your son. He needs to learn that this is a serious offense now. Don't wait until he's 16 or 17 and behind the wheel of a car.

Answer 4

not harsh at all -- u're just doing ur job;
thank you for being a parent and not a "teenager" =]

ps: i am also an honor student, in the gifted program, a great guitarist, cook, artist, athlete, and fashionable, etc. and win many awards each year not to mention winning full paid scholarships to live abroad as an exchange student etc. and the first time i drank was when i was in Chile for 6 months abroad and that's because there everyone drinks...they serve alcohol to 13 year olds and the 12 year olds even smoke(i don't drink anymore and i never smoked/never will)HOWEVER, i got drunk once(never will again)and had to go to the hospital later on since my stomach was destroyed(not anymore)and i only did it to make the girl i was staying with feel bad because she started smoking(at 13)and although everyone does it, it's not encouraged there...anyways, i was fortunate to have a ride back home...but otherwise, can u imagine what could have happened to me?
You should get him really drunk and then have him throw up and stuff and play loud music and what not and make him go through the entire day as he usually would -- with a headache, nausiea, dizziness, etc., hopefully he will never drink again...
but keep the punishment...do NOT get rid of the consequences!!!

Answer 5

Um, yeah, he could be the town sweetheart but if he's drinking and BRAGGING about it he still wouldn't be allowed around my children, no matter how much he boo-hoo'd to you about how sorry he was. I'd bawl too if I was an insolent teenager who got caught, just so I could make my parents feel sorry enough to lift my punishment! Stick to your guns!! Grow some guts!! LOL

OMG I would've been busting some butt!!! He wouldn't have access to a computer, phone or TV for a month and wouldn't be going to ANY social function for quite a while.

Do the parents of his friend know his friend is drinking at your house and you're thinking grounding him is "too harsh?"

I wouldn't let my child hang around another child who drank and then bragged about it, especially if I knew the parents were handling this as you are.

Answer 6

You are right to punish your son for stealing from your liquor cabinet. The extent of grounding seems a bit harsh to me, but that depends on the normal level of punishments in your home.
As for alcohol, I guess you have to be prepared for your son's interest in experimenting with alcohol. There is nothing really that you can do effectively to stop him from trying. And since you drink alcohol yourself you'd probably want him to become able to handle alcohol responsibly, not to become a tea-totaller. It might be a good idea to do controlled experiments with him so that he learns about the effects of alcohol (no, don't let him empty a bottle of whisky!) and talk with him about the dangers and especially about group pressure and ways to resist it.
Good luck!

Answer 7

particular, this is achievable. It rather relies upon on in case you have ever drank till now. A one hundred forty pound 5'10" guy who's 40 years previous and has been ingesting for years might of course no longer experience the comparable effects of four beers as a teenager who has under no circumstances fed on alcohol till now. once you're 13 you may desire to no longer additionally be ingesting, yet once you insist, be cautious.

Answer 8

i drank at 12 yrs old and at 13 i was getting drunk every other weekend at 16 i was drinking every weekend day, at 17 i was drinking everyday from morning to night even at school (i had a lot of issues in my life). when i got preg soon after turning 18 i completely stopped and even now i drink once a month maybe well not now b/c I'm pregnant, but i am more responsible. My husband's dad drinks all day and we hate it i would never end up like that again. lots of kids have the curiosity of what being drunk feels like, i don't think it was to harsh.

Answer 9

First of all maybe you should have a liquor cabinet with a lock on it, especially with teenagers in the house. Secondly I don't think you were being too harsh. He's way too young to be drinking. Bad actions receive bad consequences.

Answer 10

well you can't kill him for it he was curious everyone gets that way when they are young i think the punishment you set is fine after all he's your kid not anyone elses and i say this because everyone has a different opinion on raising children and say what you want beating the crap out of a kid for disobeying rules will only make them push that much harder.If he is grounded from pretty much everything he likes to do then really what else can you do?????? nothing as bad as it is there only so much you can do as far as the other kid i would sit down and have a long talk with his Parents and tell them what i expect out of my child and if they agreed then thats when you sit the boys down and let them know that neither of the parents will stand for that kind of behavior. hope this helps good luck

Answer 11

Well quite honestly the next few hours should be punishment enough. They will be very sick, and regret what they did. As for parental punishment just don't pay them any attention while they are sick just laugh and say it's your own fault. As for you, try locking up the liquor cabinet up, and providing supervision for your teen, remember the friend's parents could be seriously pissed at you, to the point of suing!