According to a Sacramento Bee report yesterday, a Rocklin teenager (15 years old) and her friend from Roseville (16 years old), spiked milkshakes with prescription sleep medication and served them to her parents in order to break her Internet curfew of 10 p.m.
The report indicated that the parents woke up around 1 a.m. feeling hung over but went back to sleep. In the morning and still feeling groggy, they picked up drug test kits at the Rocklin police department and tested positive.
The parents alerted police and the girls were taken to jail.
Michael Nottoli is the Police Crime Prevention and Volunteer Coordinator for the Rocklin Police Department. “The parents should be praised for having the courage to hold their child accountable,” Nottoli said. “What these parents did to make sure their daughter learns the seriously egregious nature of this stunt was not easy.”
Peggy Harper Lee is a Rocklin mom and author. “We don’t know if this is the first or the thousandth time these teens have challenged authority and made poor choices,” Harper Lee said. “My hat is off to the Rocklin parents who love their daughter enough to send her the message that she owns the consequences of her actions.”
When asked whether this story is an example of teenage rebellion gone amok, Dr. Debra Moore Psychologist and Director at Fall Creek Counseling Associates in Carmichael cautions parents to distinguish between the normal drive to be independent, and true rebellion.
“True rebellion comes into play when a teen (or person of any age) has built up anger or resentment, poor coping skills, lack of empathy, impaired judgment, or a combination of these factors,” Moore said. “Since parents are the ones who set limits for their children and teens, an angry adolescent is most likely to rebel against parents. Teachers or law enforcement are other common targets. Then they may make choices that are dangerous - either to themselves or others.”
Alan Baker, Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for The Coalition for Placer Youth (substance abuse prevention) in Auburn, encourages parents to make this news story a teachable moment. “These two young ladies are very lucky the result of their assault was only a headache, rather than a potentially fatal drug interaction or overdose,” Baker said. “This incident provides a great teachable moment for a family discussion on the dangers of prescription drugs.”
Baker expressed concern that teens can easily believe the prescription pills by virtue of a physician “sign off” are safe to give out. “Many teens feel that taking prescription drugs not prescribed for you is safe. This is simply not true,” Baker said.
Parent resources
- Parenting in the network
- Parenting with authority
- Rocklin Police Department
- Coalition for Placer Youth
- Fall Creek Counseling Associates
- Peggy Harper Lee (Read Peggy's article about this story)
- CyberParenting Topics on The Fish 103.9FM Tuesdays
- Follow Joanna @CyberParenting
- Like Banana Moments
- Like Three Moms and a Mike
(Ref:807-e)
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