"My wife "Misty" and I have a 12-year-old son, "Zachary," and a 6-year-old daughter, "Aria." Recently we were visiting my brother and his family when my teenage nephew caught Zachary trying to sneak a wine cooler from the fridge. He had just opened it when my nephew walked into the kitchen. My nephew took it away from my son and brought him back to the backyard patio where the rest of us were and made him fess up to what he did."
"What can I do to make her understand that this could have happened just as easily if he were at the house of a friend whose parents had alcohol in their fridge? With her logic, we should be screening every refrigerator of every place he goes for booze! -Wife Strife Misty's proposal of putting up a "booze fence" around your son will just delay his access and exposure to this one thing that she's frightened of. It won't prevent a thousand other things from being at his fingertips."
A 12-year-old attempted to take a wine cooler at relatives' home and was intercepted by a teenage nephew. The mother responded by blaming the hosts and proposing to avoid their house for perceived irresponsibility. The recommended approach is to acknowledge the child's inappropriate action, support a corrective response, and pursue a long-term, holistic strategy that teaches responsibility and addresses underlying behavior. Creating a narrow ban or a "booze fence" will only delay exposure and will not prevent many other risks in the child's environment. Parents should focus on consistent guidance, education, and modeling rather than exhaustive screening of every location.
Read at Slate Magazine
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