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It's called lazy parenting. It's so much easier to be "cool" in your children's eyes than it is to do the right thing and deal with the fact that sometimes your kids are going to think you're the worst person on the planet. You are "so lame." So what!

I have three teenagers and drinking vs no-drinking has been an on-going issue for many years at our home. The rule is, "No drinking until you're 21. Period." Has this rule always been followed? Nope. I wish I could say that our teens followed all the rules all the time, but they don't. That certainly doesn't mean that I throw in the towel...or wave a little white flag of defeat. No way! This is where my job gets hard and I have to correct the behavior or just about die trying.

The statistics on high schoolers who cheat on tests is really high. If I found out one of my children had cheated, I wouldn't say, "Well, statistics say they're going to do it. There's nothing I do to stop it. Matter-of-fact, let me show you how to cheat so that you won't get caught." Is that not the same thing as allowing drinking in your home by underage teens? You're telling them, "It's against the law, but you won't get into any trouble because I'm going to show you how to do this without getting caught."

As the parent of teenagers our biggest challenge hasn't been our kids WANTING to drink. It's been fighting the effects of our kids being in the homes of their friends where the parents allow drinking (when we find out these visits are over). They can say they're trying to teach responsible drinking. They can also say they'd rather them drink at their house than be out on the streets drinking. I'm not buying it. It's lazy parents. Besides, what are you doing letting your teenagers roam the streets? Why is that you're only other option for them?

Be the parent now and their friend when they're adults.

Learn more about this author, Tina Pollard.
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