ALCOHOL DETECTION

Let me preface this by saying that I know this happens everywhere, and I know that no matter where we live teenagers are going to experiment. But that being said I also want to make my case in numbers.

I think that bored teenagers tend to experiment more than busy ones.
Living in a small town has it's ups and downs. There is not as much to do here as there is in....let's just say the Chicago area. I also believe that every school, big town or small has it's different groups of kids. You will always have your jocks, preps, partiers etc. But chances are when you are in a big town, the numbers help you tremendously. You have many more choices in who you can hang out with. Many more choices in where you are going to go.

I have found that here in a small town, all the kids tend to end up at the same parties, at the same houses & in the same cars.

Not too long ago, a few kids were caught here drinking & driving. These were friends of my 9th grader. No, my son was not with them, in fact he did all I would hope and pray for, he called me and I picked him up. He was at a party with all of these kids and the actual drinking occured at an after party. But these were his close friends. Their not bad kids, give or take a kid or two, just good kids who made a really bad decision.

As proud as we were of our son, we knew we needed to take some protective measures. We knew that like a cold virus, once someone sneezes it spreads like a wildfire amongst pre-schoolers. The same happens in teens whose friends start to try things out. It is rare that you will find a teenager who will drink alone. They will pressure someone into doing it with them. I am not THAT mother who would tell my kids they have to drop THAT friend. In fact, Movin Dad and I both know that just because these kids got "caught" doesn't mean they aren't going to go for it again.

We still remember what it was like to be a teenager. I know that the pressure will remain to drink. We can only offer hope, guidance, & prayer that he will continue to get out of the situation. Along with my other 3 kids. After all my eldest is a driver now and my freshman starts drivers ed this year. Their athletics are very important to them which I know was a part of his reasoning.

However a little mental insurance was needed on our part to plant a seed in the back of their head. We went out and purchased an electronic breathalizer test to have on hand. We also are getting a few drug tests from the police station to keep in the medicine cabinet.

We're not suspicious right now,however we both feel like it is definetly an "out" for them with their friends. In fact, I was fully anticipating an argument from both teen boys. I thought we would hear, "Don't you trust us?" But instead they both said, "Now when someone asks us, we can just say ~NO WAY our mom tests us on a regular basis!"

I am not here to hinder their "COOL FACTOR" I am here to help guide them to make the right decisions. My freshman and his best friend have a code. If they arrive at a party where there is alcohol their going to call me and say, "Duuuuuude, there is ONE CRAZY UGLY CHICK here!"
That's my cue to get there quick! They also have picked intersections for
me to pick them up at, because again...I am not here to hinder their coolness. If this is what they need to do for high school survival then I support them whole heartedly.

So the whole point of this post was to share with you my breathalizer experience. Movin Dad and I were just waiting to have a drink so we could test it out. How many drinks does it take to get to the center of a lollipop? I mean ...how many drinks can we have before we are heading to jail for drinking and driving?

So I went first. One beer each. As soon as I finished it, I blew into the detector and it said .09! WTF~ I can only drink one beer? Wait I cannot even drink one beer because
.08 is the legal drunk level. So I read the booklet and it says you have to wait 20 minutes after you drink. So 20 minutes later........ .02~ Much better!!! Then Movin Dad steps up to the plate......I am not kidding you after one beer and a 20 minute wait it registers at .00! WTF? SO we drink another one. I wait 20 minutes. It gives me a .03. Then I run upstairs to check Movin' Dad and he had fallen asleep. So obviously the guy cannot handle his beer! :) Well it was 11 pm to be fair.

Anyway, I hope I never have to use it on our kids, or anyone elses for that matter. But we're not taking any chances! It was a great investment.

* Note to self~ (future post) Why is it that a man and a woman can both go on the same diet and the man loses weight quicker and loses more weight than the woman.
Why is it that the man can drink a beer and the test shows NOTHING and the woman
drinks and registers every drop?