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Remember, Parents Who Host, Lose the Most

June is traditionally a time of great celebration for high school seniors, as well as their families and friends. Now that prom season is underway and graduation is fast approaching, it is essential for teens and their parents alike to keep in mind the importance of having fun and celebrating their achievements in a safe and responsible way. In light of this, Supervisor Cook would like to reiterate his support of the “Parents Who Host Lose the Most: Don’t be a party to teenage drinking” message.

Parents planning on hosting an event should take care to ensure that they are providing an alcohol and drug-free environment for underage guests. Make sure that you know who is on the guest list and monitor the celebration to ensure that there are no unwelcome visitors and that all attendees are behaving in a safe way.

Keeping a good supply of food and plenty of non-alcoholic beverages is essential, as is planning activities ahead of time to keep everyone engaged. If you are going out of town, please make sure to set and communicate rules and standards to be followed in your absence and ask a neighbor or family member to check up on your teen to make sure that no unsupervised parties or gatherings are taking place. If your child is attending a party, make sure that you know where he or she will be and call the host parents ahead of time to verify the location and the presence of adult supervision at the event. Set a curfew for your teen to be home and stress the importance of never accepting a ride from anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs and make it clear that you will pick up your teen if he or she is in a dangerous situation.

To make this season safe, law enforcement officials will increase their monitoring to make sure that illegal parties aren’t taking place, and your vigilance is requested to stop these events from allowing teens to put themselves in hazardous situations. If you have reason to believe that underage teens are being served alcohol at an event, please do not hesitate to contact your local police department.