Party Guidelines

Recommended Guidelines For Parties

WHEN YOUR TEENAGER IS AT A PARTY we encourage you to:

1. Call the host: Before giving consent that your teenager be allowed to attend a party, you might call the hosts to make certain that there will be parental supervision and that alcohol will not be allowed. Do not be afraid as a result of the phone call to reconsider whether or not your teenager should attend.

2. You should feel free to check the party plans before hand with your teenager: It is all right to want to know where your teenager is going and with whom. If you do not know the parent hosts, introduce yourselves.

3. Make it easy for your teenager to leave the party! If drinking or drugs are at a party or there is some other reason that your teenager wishes to leave the party, agree that it is all right for your teenager to call you (or a designated adult) to come pick him or her up at an agreed upon location. Urge your teenager NEVER to ride with a driver who has been drinking. There would ideally be an understanding that there will be no punishment restrictions for calling.

4. You might want to greet your son or daughter when he or she comes home from a party or you might have some prearranged signal that will tell you that he or she had arrived home safely.

WHEN YOUR TEENAGER IS GIVING A PARTY we encourage you to:
1. Plan in advance: Check party plans with your teenager and be aware of the guest list. You will want to discourage an "open party" or gate crashers. The experience of many of our parents shows that this can get seriously out of hand quickly.

2. Set a time limit: It works well if you can set and stick with a definite start and stop time.

3. You may want to agree on some rules ahead of time. These may include:

* No drugs, including alcohol, may be served or bought, or consumed on the premises;
* No leaving the party and then re-entering;
* No street partying;
* No gate crasher;
* Lights left on;
* You may wish to have some rooms in the house off-limits.

4. Expect to receive some phone calls from other parents who will want to know the arrangements for the party.

5. We urge you to know and observe your responsibilities: Remember it is illegal to serve drugs, including alcohol, to minors. You may incur serious legal penalties if you fail to observe these laws.

6. If there are "crashers" who appear at the party, or if a disturbance is developing outside of your home, you may want to consider telephoning your local police or 911 and asking for assistance before the party becomes uncontrollable.

7. Invite another parent or couple to assist: Other couples can be company for you during the evening, and can also be of assistance should problems arise. Also, if parents have driven their teenagers to your home, you might consider inviting them in to meet you.

8. Plan to be present.

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