Meanest
Mom on The Planet Can Teach Us All A Few Things
Jane Hambleton of Des Moines, Iowa is the
meanest mom on the planet…according to the following
Ad, which she placed in the Des Moines Register earlier this
year:
"OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents
who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car.
Only driven for
three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found
booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on
the planet."
We can learn a lot from the Meanest Mom.
• Keep a sense of humor – Laughter is a wonderful
antidote to stress and I hope you got a laugh out of this.
•
Your children are not your best friends, they are your children.
•
Trust your own judgment.
•
Know your children’s friends’ parents.
•
Make an agreement with your children’s friends’ parents
about appropriate activities and stick to that agreement.
As prom season and spring break approach, your children’s
focus turns to parties, parties and more parties. Parents
feel both excitement and fright at the thought of all these
parties and celebrations, wanting their children to have
a great time, but to be safe.
Take a lesson from the Meanest Mom. Stand up to social norms
and media exposure that tells your children that drinking
is a fun way to relax, be social and make friends. Teenage
drinking is not a rite of passage; it is a recipe for disaster.
Read the statistics below and see if you still think underage
drinking is okay for your teen.
* Children who begin drinking alcohol before the age of
15 are 5 times more likely than those who start after age
21 to develop alcohol problems.
* A survey found one-third of teens attend parties where
illegal drugs and alcohol are on hand despite parents being
present, according to an article by The Associated Press.
However, 80 percent of the parents interviewed did not believe
illegal drugs or alcohol were present at teen gatherings.
* More than 67% of young people who start drinking before
the age of 15 will try an illicit drug.
* Traffic crashes are the number one killer of teens and
over one-third of teen traffic deaths are alcohol-related.
* National studies show that the average age when a child
first tries alcohol is 11; for marijuana, it's 12.
* Alcohol is a strong predictor of sexual activity, unprotected
sex, date rape and violent behaviors.
Parents are the Number One Reason Kids Give For Not Drinking & Using
Drugs.
Are you prepared for the season? Be proud to be the Meanest
Mom or Dad in the whole world. Read about our Safe Homes/Safe
Parties Pledge, then sign it… the life you
save may be your own child’s or that of a dear friend.
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