Wednesday, September 27, 2006

In the past few years, I've read about a number of teen parties that have ended in damage or death.
In this age when text messaging can bring many strangers and unwanted guests to your house, I'm wondering why parents would even entertain the idea of a party at their home that exceeded 20 or so people.

I've read about parties that have resulted in thousands of dollars worth of damage to homes and theft of jewellery, home entertainment equipment and vehicles.

Why?

Why can't people just have a good time?
A few years ago, one of my co-workers' sons had a big party at their home while they were away at a cottage. Uninvited guests showed up drunk, and a fight ensued. The police were called. These kids were ejected, only to show up an hour or so later to terrorize the place and trash the living room and kitchen causing 28,000 in damage, plus pushing around and shaking up a number of young girls who were there.
Were those kids ever arrested?
I don't know. Her kids didn't know them...there were a lot of people at the party.
It didn't result in murder, so how far the investigation went is unknown to me.

Would you let your teen have a party at your house?
I mean, you make the assumption that your child is responsible, but do you know who their friends are?
We have big events at our home on occasion, and to say that I know every single person who shows up would be a lie. People bring people, and I've gone through a whole evening not knowing every single person who is in my home.
But, I've never had 150 or more people at a party.
Some of these teen parties end up looking more like raves than house parties.

How long do you think it's going to take before insurance companies start making this sort of thing part of their policies, if they haven't already.
It won't be long before you'll have a clause in your policy, and higher rates if you have children under 25 living in your home.

Mark my words.