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.