Your Teeanger's First New Year's Eve Party

I was a teenager in the 1960's and my parents, God Bless them both as they look down on me, guided me in a time when the world was in turmoil. My 1950's parents were faced with a fast moving youth movement, much more prominent then they had faced when they were growing up. Mini skirts, GO-Go Boots, the Beatles and Rock Bands, the Hippie movement, free love, Cuban Misslie Crisis, and the onsaught of the Vietnam War were all whirling around us during those fomulative years. Yet they instilled wihtin me a meaning of morals and self worth that I took with me into the world.

I was allowed to go to my first New Year's Eve party with firends when I was 14 years old. They knew the parents that were hosting the party and they trusted me. They knew that there was probably, more than probably going to be drinking, music and perhaps a slip of marijuana dropped by one of the older kids in our group. Yet they trusted me. I took that trust with me when I entered the club room that the party was hosted in. The light were dimmed, music was loud, and the liquor was available. There were brightly colored strands of Christmas lights blinking along the ceiling. There were couples that were embraced and enchanted with each other as if the world around them did not exist.

There was laughter and a some bemoaning as some of our older friends were faced with the chance of a lottery for drafting into the Viet Nam War. There was a lot of emotions that flowed through that room. I was on the cusp of a changing world. That party is where I met my future husband. He played the piano and guitar that were a part of my friend Michelle's world. He was 15 and I think I fell in love with him at first sight. But that is another story.

This story is about the age that you deem your child old enough and wise enough to take care of themselves while they are on their own. If you as a parent have installed in them as your offspring a sense of right and wrong, a trust in their self worth, a knowledge when to say no and a trust that they can call on you as a responsible adult to take them back to safety if they need it, then you have done your job. A New Year's Eve party is a big step and showing your teenager that you trust their judgement to walk away from dangerous situations and that they trust you enough to call if danger presents itself then starting at the age of 14 for a first teenage party is good enough as long as there is a responsible chaperone available, and your child has a cell phone and enough sense and confidence that they can contact you, their parent or guardian, to help them if they find themselves in unsavory situation.

So parents, look at your teenager, really look at him or her, ask yourself a few questions, do you trust them, do you trust their judgement, do you trust their friends to stand up for your child if necessary? If you can answer yes to these questions then I think 14 is a great age to allow them to spread their wings and venture out for an evening of fun.

Have a great and safe holiday......see you all safe next year