Parents are warned: It's party time, danger time

And police, health officials and others are frustrated with parents who tolerate or even encourage teen drinking. This year, they are appealing both to youths and their parents to turn off the tap.

Armed with true stories of alcohol-fueled car fatalities and stabbings, sexual assaults and injuries, specialists are heading to schools this fall to remind parents that teen drinking is not only dangerous but illegal.

"There is a tremendous amount of education that needs to be done around this issue. It is shocking, some of the parents' attitudes," said Deborah Ricci, a Seattle attorney.

If a minor who has been drinking at someone's home is injured -- or injures someone else -- the parent homeowners can be sued in "host liability" cases.

Ricci said parents have asked her "how to insure" against host liability, when the real issue is to "prevent the illegal drinking in the first place."

"You could legally give your own kid a glass of wine at dinner, but that doesn't mean you can give your kids' friends wine," Ricci said. "When I speak to parents, I inform them that if I get a judgment against them, I can take their homes, their recreational vehicles, all their property, all their toys. They are appalled -- and frightened."

The Party Patrol, a non-profit organization devoted to preventing drinking-related tragedies is increasingly being invited to schools to discuss teen drinking.

"I hear all the time from parents: 'It's only alcohol.' So they allow drinking in their homes, or they leave teenagers alone for the weekend -- they are trusting their kids to death," said Linda Elliott, founder and director of the Party Patrol, which also works with local police agencies, the Washington State Patrol and the Liquor Control Board.

Elliott, who has been threatened and had her home "egged" by teenagers who consider her a spoilsport, said, "Just because you give a kid a cell phone doesn't mean you know where they are. Parents cause sobriety -- by setting boundaries, communicating with other parents, knowing their kids' friends, being more proactive."

The state Liquor Control Board is increasingly using underage teens to help in "sting" operations to identify stores that sell alcohol to minors. The board also is working with schools and local law enforcement agencies to crack down on underage drinking at parties.

"We've responded to party calls every night this summer, but the teen drinking problem gets worse once school starts," said Tacoma police Detective Bradley Graham.

The Washington State PTA is concerned about a state survey in which teenagers said they were drinking and doing drugs in much higher numbers than many parents realized. It also urges parents to be more proactive.

Health care professionals also try to raise public awareness. Among their messages: middle-schoolers who drink too much can die of alcohol poisoning because they lack the enzyme that metabolizes alcohol.

They say don't ever allow a drunken middle-schooler to go to sleep -- they may never get up.

"The social acceptance of alcohol in our society is unbelievable," said Abe Bergman, chief of pediatrics at Harborview Medical Center.

"Beer is the killer of youth between 16 and 25, but that's the market manufacturers target in their promotions ... The peer pressure (to drink) is enormous; kids are afraid they'll be considered nerds if they don't."

Elliott said, however, that parents often buy into the peer pressure too.

"We've had parents who say they remember what it was like to not fit in, and they want their kids to fit in, so they arrange or condone drinking and the parties," Elliott said.

Deborah Caldwell, co-chairwoman of Bellevue High School PTA, is trying to counter that mindset.

"As a parent, I don't see my job as helping my kids to fit in," Caldwell said. "I see my job as ensuring my kids stay alive."

IN THE SCHOOLS

This fall, Party Patrol has been asked to Gig Harbor High, Sept. 10; Bainbridge High, Oct. 1; Quincy High, Oct. 4; Explorer Middle School in Seattle, Oct. 10; St. Thomas Moore High in Lynnwood, Oct. 11; Lacey High, Oct. 15; Bellarmine High, Oct. 16; Orcas Island, Oct. 18; and Inglemoor High in Bothell, Oct. 15.

P-I reporter Debera Carlton Harrell can be reached at 206-448-8326 or deberaharrell@seattlepi.com

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