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Save the Kids- When You Can
I was surfing the internet the other day and, as usual, went to my MySpace page to check on my children’s pages to make sure they were behaving and no one was harassing them about anything. They are fully aware that I do this, we have a very open relationship. To my chagrin, there were several pictures posted on one of their pages of their friends at a public establishment, drinking at the bar. My children were not there, but that made no difference. Several of them drive and have their own cars. My decision was clear. I called the establishment and spoke to the manager. I let him know that several underage kids were drinking at his place of business and I thought he needed to have a talk with his bartenders and servers to be a bit more diligent about checking ID’s. I emailed copies of what was online to him and told him I would appreciate it if he would simply ask them to leave when they came in. I didn’t want to hear that they had been arrested. I love these kids, they are around all the time and for the most part are good kids. But I remember being a teenager and knew whole well they would not know when to stop, and I did not want to attend a funeral of one or more of them, or hear that they had killed someone else because of drunken driving. After I had done this, I told my son what I had done, hoping he would understand but worrying he would just be angry that I had turned in his friends. I was pleased and surprised that he was happy at what I had done. He didn’t want any of his friends to stupidly die while drunk driving either. He also mentioned that his brother frequently skateboards at night and comes home that way. If one of his friends hit his brother after drinking he would never forgive them. I was pleased and proud of my son for saying so.
We all need to take responsibility for ALL the kids, and if I saved just one life, then it was worth it.
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Thank you
Thank you for looking out for these kids and thank you for the way you are raising your children Good job.
Joan Haselman | 5 months ago
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Good intentions.....
While I understand and commend the choice to call this particular establishment and inform the owners, a lot could be argued in a situation like this. What would you have done had you heard these kids all received underage drinking charges against them, putting their reputations and financial situations at stake? I’ve personally been through a few of those situations prior to becoming ‘legal’ and they are no fun to deal with either in the court systems or family systems, alike. And I know fully that underage drinking is illegal, however, you’d be surprised at how many of today’s kids are responsible about not driving after drinking. You spoke of knowing what it was like to drink at that age, and I’m sure you personally feel that you have turned out alright in life (as you sound like a good parent). But how would you have felt in a situation like that? And what about ‘Joe Legal-Drinker’ sitting at the end of the bar since hours before that drinking legally and driving afterwards whether it be through designated drivers or merely taking a cab? He’s just as much of a threat…
Gordan Singley | 2 months ago
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corrections*
….you’d be surprised at how many of today’s kids are responsible about not driving after drinking whether it be through a designated driver or merely taking a cab.
And what about ‘Joe Legal-Drinker’ sitting at the end of the bar since hours before that drinking legally and driving afterwards? He’s just as much of a threat…
my apologies*
Gordan Singley | 2 months ago
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Responsible drinking/driving
I’m not sure you can drink illegally and responsibly at the same time. Sounds oxymoronic to me.
Sandy DeWitt | 2 months ago
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The Meaning of Personal Responsibility
In response to “Good Intentions”….This website is dedicated to personal responsibility, a large part of which is accepting accountability for the results of our actions. Underage drinkers know in advance they are breaking the law, and they know there is a risk of being prosecuted (or worse). Lisa did not put their “reputations and financial situations at stake” – the underage drinkers did when they made a conscious decision to accept the risk of being caught and prosecuted. If photos of underage drinkers being turned over to the offending establishment (also guilty of breaking the law for profit) had resulted in their prosecution, the drinkers would be held accountable for their actions. Taking personal responsibility would mean accepting accountability without placing the blame on others or making excuses.
Having both participated in underage drinking and coming too close to hurting others in a car while drinking, and having raised two teenagers through the underage drinking years, I believe Lisa’s actions were not only proper, had she not taken action she would have not lived up to her responsibility as a loving and concerned parent. By contacting the establishment and not the police, Lisa gave the bar an opportunity to clean up its act without losing its liquor license, did not put the underage drinkers in direct risk of prosecution, and may have saved the life of someone’s underage child. Thank you, Lisa.
Tommy Boudreaux | 1 month ago
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