Would you let your teen go to a party at a hotel?
Tonight we let our fifteen-year-old go to a birthday party at a hotel. I know what your thinking. A hotel? When he came to us and said, “Can I go to John’s birthday party tonight? It’s at a hotel,” my first response was, “Heck no!” But then I calmed down and got all the details.
Turns out the mother chose a party at a hotel for a couple of reasons. (1) It’s his sixteenth birthday and she wanted to do something kind of cool for this big birthday. (2) She didn’t want to have to clean up her own house after 10 fifteen- and sixteen-year-old boys had a big party.
Knowing the mother got the hotel room settled us down…a little. It was better than thinking the boys planned this on their own without supervision, but I was still leery there might be girls and booze at this party. That’s immediately what my mind wanders to when my teen asks to go to a party at a hotel.
So I had him call the birthday boy’s mother so I could talk to her. They were already at the hotel and I could hear the boys in the background. She said she and her oldest daughter would be there chaperoning the entire night. They were planning on letting the boys go swimming and they brought an Xbox for the kids to play in the room.
Since there are adults presents and, maybe more importantly, no girls there (other than the adults), we decided to let him go. We gave him the “we trust you, so please don’t break that trust” speech before my husband dropped him off. Now were hoping for the best.
The biggest struggle I have with these teens is letting them go. I tend to be a pretty protective mom. However sometimes we need to let them go and make their own decisions. We need to give them opportunities to be responsible and choose their own path. Tonight is one of the first tests.
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POSTED IN: Weary Parent
1 opinion for Would you let your teen go to a party at a hotel?
Kelly
Mar 4, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I don’t see a problem as long as there’s an adult there to supervise, although I’d want to at least talk to them before-hand like you did, because there are some parents out there with the “at least if they are drinking while I’m with them, they aren’t doing it out there” mentality.
Actually, my daughter is turning 12 next month and her party is going to be at Nickelodeon hotel. It will be the two of us with 3 of her friends spending the night there. Yes, a big plus is that you don’t have to worry about cleaning the house before AND after the party, plus this particular place is supposed to be pretty awesome, with shows, restaurants, lots of shopping, and a Playstation in every room (plus a spare bedroom for the parent who might want to actually sleep!). I’m actually looking forward to it myself!
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