Dear Citizens,

There has been an alarming trend over the past few years where otherwise law abiding and good parents have taken it upon themselves to host alcohol parties in their home for their child(ren) and their child(ren)s friends.  In most cases, the children are in their mid-late teens and usually the event is a celebration of some type such as a graduation from high school, other times it involves holiday get-togethers.

Many parents believe that this type of situation is all right because it is “chaperoned” by adults and the parents believe that alcohol use will be moderate. These situations are also rationalized by the parent(s) because they say, “the kids are going to drink anyway, this way we can keep an eye on them.”

Unfortunately, this is an extremely dangerous idea for many reasons. First and foremost it is a blatant violation of the law. Furnishing alcohol to a minor is illegal, even if it is your own child. It is also contributing to the delinquency of minor, possible child endangerment, and in the event the minor for some reason has a bad reaction to even a small amount of alcohol furnished by a parent could result in felony charges that could include manslaughter and a prison term. In addition to the crimes committed by the adult, the minor can be charged as well with “minor in possession of alcohol.”   

The risks do not stop there. A parent serving alcohol to their child(ren) can be charged with child abuse or neglect. These charges, brought in the juvenile court against the parents can be grounds to remove the child(ren) from the offending parents. In this type of situation, the court could remove the parent’s other younger children even if the other children did not drink or were even present when the “party” took place.

Allowing a minor to consume alcohol in your home can also lead to a serious lawsuit against the parents for injured sustained by the action of the intoxicated minors. For example, a minor consumes alcohol and then drives later that night and injures another driver, passenger or pedestrian, the furnisher of the alcohol can be sued just as if they were the ones driving the vehicle.

Finally, there is moral obligation of the parents to avoid condoning improper behavior. Even if the parent’s motives are to teach moderate use of alcohol, it is a message to children that breaking the law is okay if done so with parental supervision.

So please think twice about this type of situation. Don’t let your desire to be a “friend” to your child(ren) cloud your thinking as to what a good parent should do.

Judge Paul E. Hamre

Chief Judge of the Van Buren County Family Court