Many parents fail to realize how much trouble their teen can find at a party held at the house of a friend. This is often assumed to be a safe environment, but this can be dangerously wrong. Too many parents allow their teens to host a party at the home and provide little or no supervision. Here are some tips to help you evaluate whether you should allow your teen (or even pre-teen) to attend. My first suggestion is to call the parents of the teen where the party will occur and ask some very specific questions:
*Will you be home for the entire duration of the party?
*Will you both be circulating among the crowd during the party or in another room?
*Will you be screening what teens are allowed to bring into your home?
*Will you allow or serve alcohol?
*Will there be boys and girls present?
Even after asking these questions, there is still a wide range of morals and values in society today. What they may feel is acceptable, you may not. Talk specifically to your teen about com-promising situations he or she may face and how to handle them. Let them take a cell phone so they can call you to pick them up at any time. Here is a tip to help them keep up their "coolness." If you go to get them early, call them back on the cell phone so they can exit the party without being noticed as much as they would if you came to the door. If you decide you have too many concerns about a particular party to say yes, let your teen know they always have an out that can help them keep up their image. They can simply tell their friends that Mom and Dad said no.
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Another good question is, Are you planning on going to sleep while the party is on? It is always good to allow our children to use us as "the bad guys" if they need an out.
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