This lady writes into Dear Margo with an alcoholic 16 year old son. Margo ends her advice with "Tell your son he is going to A.A. for young people or he can live on his own."
Is that supposed to help? If I were the kid, that would be a no brainer. "I can move out? COOL!" I've never been an alcoholic, but I have been 16 and had my parents getting on my case about the stuff that I most wanted to do. If given the choice between living with my parents and having to stop drinking (and probably being subject to constant, annoying supervision), and moving out on my own where I can drink all I want without anyone nagging me, I would move out in an instant! I don't know about this kid, but at 16 it never occurred to me that moving out was an option, but if someone presented it to me as an option I would have been all "Brilliant idea!" At 16, especially considering the kind of political rhetoric I was exposed to as a child, I fully believed that it was perfectly possible to support oneself flipping burgers or scrubbing floors if one only budgeted properly, and I was sick of being guilt-tripped about being spoiled. I would have jumped at the chance to live away from my parents in bohemian poverty, feeding my addition without anyone getting on my case. I seriously doubt the so-called "threat" of having to move out would get a 16 year old to say "No, I think I'll live with my parents and stop drinking and be a good little boy."
1 comment:
A lot of his drinking takes place alone -- in his room, in the garage, sitting outside in his car.
Mom and Dad let him drink within their arm's reach? They don't sic the police on whoever is supplying the alcohol? That is one strange family.
The boy is pretty clearly a delinquent juvenile. I would think the parents can and should have him committed somewhere...treatment center, reform school, etc. "Tough love," to be sure. But it can't be any worse than the advice they got from Margo.
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