A Parenting story

kevin_5

As long as we're thinking about setting a good example to our children, let's not forget the drug that is so socially acceptable that it has it's own "non-drug" category, yes we're talking ALCOHOL.
Now I know many guys who have a beer on occasion and I'm not down on them at all. But seriously, how many families have you known of that have been directly destroyed by booze? Or at least it was a serious factor?

And the advertising billboards from Anheuser Busch pleading with people to "drink responsibly" - gimme a break. Breweries thrive on excess.If everyone in this country who drinks to excess, suddenly slacked off to "moderation" what do you think would happen to sales percentage wise? If multiple millions of people all of a sudden go from having a 12 pack after work several nights a week to 2 a couple nights a week...whatsit gonna do to sales?

I plan to be at Wetstock in Denver, and I understand many will be enjoying an "adult beverage".
Please don't mis-understand. I won't be in the least bit offended to sit and talk with anyone drinking anything, nor would it bother me if someone offered me one. I just think it's rather inconsistent for such a drug dependent society to pick and choose which drugs are acceptable. (And for the record, I'm definitately NOT one of those legalize marijuana guys.) Kevin

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Wayco Wayne

Yeah, it happened to me.

It started last Friday night about 11. I was relaxing in front of the tube when my wife came from upstairs and plops down a bag of somethng in front of me on the coffee table. "I found these in Ellies make up kit," she exclaimed. It was a bag of many different types of capsules. Drugs in my 14 going on 15 year old daughters make up kit. Oh Boy! I wasn't expecting this. Ellie's always been no problem. At least nothing as serious as this. She works hard in school, and is on the Pom Squad. She has been spending the night at her friends a lot lately but we thought it was all OK. My wife keeps in touch with her friend's Mothers. "There's got to be some explanation." I said. "This just isn't like Ellie," or my image of her, I thought to myself. She was over at a friends house. We thought of going over and waking folks up just to get an explanation, but decided to wait. It was pretty late for that. Neither of us slept well that night. I kept having visions of all the people you always see on the news after some disaster, saying "I don't understand, everyone thought they were such nice people." That was like me. I hadn't suspected a thing. In the morning we waited until 8 and then drove over to her friends and with no explanation told her to grab her stuff, she was going home. She could tell we were upset and kept asking "what did I do?" When we got home we sat her down and showed her the bag of capsules, looking for her reaction. She appeared confused. "I found these in your make-up kit," my wife said. She thought for a second, her brow furrowed and then her mouth popped open and she started laughing. Laughing hard. This was not the reaction we were expecting. When she could finally talk again she explained. "About 6 months ago Meagan and I found all of these pills in the trash can." (My wife had cleaned out the medicine cabinent from all out of date and unused medicine.) "We wanted to play Doctor so we took them and emptied them all out and filled them with kool-aid." She finished and then started laughing again. "And you guys think I'm a drug addict, Hahahahahaha," and so on. I opened a capsule and tasted the powder. Sure enough. Blue Kool Aid. We're feeling a little sheepish, and a lot relieved. We took her out to breakfast and then dropped her back at her friends at her request. Any lessons learned. Maybe you shouldn't jump to conclusions. Maybe it's better to flush unused drugs down the loo. Parenting is a roller coaster ride and it will take you places you can't imagine. Happy Friday!! WW

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DanHolohan

Great

story! Whew.

Jackchips

Ditto

Dan's remark. Thanks for sharing.

J.C.A._3

I guess....

In the "ensuing panic" you showed your child just how you felt. She may have not considered the consequences of her actions, but in the same token, you showed her the knowledge and wisdom of your years.

Keep up the good work Wayne. For all you guys out there who get the "ultimate question" from your children, have you used drugs? My advice is to tell the truth. (lying will only cost you in the long run)BUT... explain why you did it , what it did to you and finally , why you don't do it anymore.That was my approach, and my step-daughter always told me when someone approached her with the offer.
A couple of "dopeslaps" to the offender never hurt, and they would never tell their parents why they got them !
This is an unfortunate part of parenting now, and I wish all of my fellow wallies the strenghth to be forward and honest . Most of all , I hope that you can explain why it was such a detrimental thing that did nothing but harm, to our visions and dreams. Chris

Don_4

Good stuff

Being a parent of two adult chidren myself I read your story with great empathy. The feeling you get when you find out you must have done some things right and your kids are doing the right things is great. Letting her know you are watching out for her and care is especially important. My greatest feeling of accomplishment with my kids was when they were both in their late teens. It was normal for them to come and sit by me on the couch when I was watching the tube. Sometimes they would just lean up against me or put their arm around my shoulders. Just to see a teenager (almost adult) who is not loathe to be near the parent tells me something went right

Irene_2

Kool aid

I thought you had an interesting story and I hope your comfortable with the explaination. But just to play devils advocate a minute. I teach riding to kids, lots of 14-15 years old. Not one of them would "play Doctor" at that age. They are old enough to go through the trash, find the pills, empty them out, and fill them with Kool Aid? The thought that they were handling the contents inside those capsules would give me pause but what were they going to do with kool aid filled pills. Practice swallowing them? Playing Doctor and having a make up bag doesn't really jive. In my position I wind up traveling to a lot of horse show with a lot of different kids and it's amazing what they will tell me. I try to give them guidence and if need be I will pass info over to their parents if it warrants repeating. I have seen kids with kool aid filled pills and it wasn't to play doctor with. I personally would dig a little deeper.
Good Luck
Irene

Wayco Wayne

Yes Irene

Your thoughts mirrored some of mine, but for now we must trust and be vigilant at the same time. My wife is a bulldog when it comes to keeping track of our kids and who they're hanging out with. To top off her store of info, she works full time at the local middle school and for 2 years was in charge of supervising the inschool suspension program. She knows what goes on and who the bad apples are. Still... you think you know and maybe you don't. Trouble don't always come in the door but waits by the window behind the bushes. Have a good weekend. Don't forget to bug your kids. WW

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