Bad timing. If there ever is good timing to have a first drunk. But then, teenagers aren't known for their high degree of consideration of others. My wife found a lot of value in a book, the title of which I don't know offhand, the basic thesis of which is that we need to teach right behavior in the same way we teach reading, math, etc. We don't expect kids to grow up knowing what 23 times 8 is, why should we expect them to grow up knowing how to behave? We don't spank them when they misspell a word, even if we think they should know it, why do we spank them for putting salt in the sugar bowl, even when we think they should know better? I've put it badly, but I'll read it someday and then I'll know better.
Meanwhile, you have now had the exam for Parent of Teenager course 201A -- what to do when the kid comes home drunk. Just be glad you didn't have to take that exam at the same time you had to take 324C -- what to do when your kid calls from the police station and says they're under arrest. Or, even worse, 419A -- visiting your kid in the hospital after they have crashed your car, drunk.
Don't count on it being her last hangover, though.
What is the parental response going to be???
This is a bit vacation and a bit business -- I'm accompanying P to a conference on the current state of brain research. The last one I just hung around the hotel during the conference. This one she sucked me into attending it. But I think some of the stuff may be useful for jury presentation. |
