Tips to catch teen sneaking out at night

My younger sister used to sneak out of the house often. One night after she snuck out (walked right out the front door, if she went out through the bedroom window she would have broken legs from a very long drop), our mother got up, found the front door unlocked. She promptly locked it and went back to bed. A few hours later, a cop knocked on our front door, little sister with him. Neighbors saw a dark figure trying to open the front door and called the cops to report someone possibly breaking in. My sister got busted by the cop for 'running away'and 'attempting a break-in"....she never did it again.

That was 35 years ago...now we laugh about it, LOL.

cocaine is a hell of a drug

Where do I get one of those?

Good parents trust their kids, and then ALWAYS confirm. I thought my son might be sneaking out at age 16 so I climbed in his bed and got some shut-eye while waiting for his return. Yeah, he was one startled boy when he found he had been busted by his mama. Said he had to go to get books from his locker at school, only thing is he came home with no books. Ha, ha, ha, ha! I was young once, too, so we talked about girls and being careful and wise. Somehow got him raised into a decent responsible adult with 3 kids of his own now. I somehow think he will remember the climbing into their empty bed trick in about 7 years.

exactly

think like a teen to catch a teen. Remember, you were one once.

Realize this is what teens do?

Since the 50s this has happened. I did it, friends did it. I'm over 30 now and all we did was walk around, getting a 'kick' out of the fact we were 'out' and alone.

Taking psychology, I also learned this is a normal way for them to stretch their own boundaries. Relax. You actually don't want to crack down on them, or they will rebel and resent you. What you want to do is let them know you know and tell them you love them no matter what, and they can call you if they need help out there at night, "doing whatever you do".

All of this, is called being a Good Parent.

a well-located game cam w/ infrared sensor should do the trick... i get all kinds of cool pics of the deer at night

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar

They have an outhouse?!

Only violence can help you now. Run them over with the car.

Ok im a that has snuck out a few times in the past few years, let me tell u a few things that r happening. u guys do NOT make it easy on us trust me, staying up and talking or going to the bathroom really make it hard. And ya some kids that grew up thinking that its ok to direspect ur body and what not r prolly sneaking out to do drugs or get some. But if ur raised in a respectable household (which i wasnt and i still turned out just fine and dont need any lectures thank u very much) r prolly doing what i do, going and hanging out with friend. I dont do it to make my parents mad, its the adrenaline and we love to do things to get noticed in good ways. So just lay off him a bit about it cause i can guess u prolly did as a kid and he will look back and say wow those were good times just like u do now.

We have an 18 yr old...we had our worries....then we asked, she said "thank you for treating me like an adult, yes I have been sneaking out"....now she is grounded until she goes to college. Please someone take my place....

verry true.

get some infer-red game camra's ( no flash give away ) put one out side the front door/drive way and another by Child's window....

digital

will cost a pretty penny,. but if you want evidence !!

I vote this as one of the best threads of the year. I used to sneak out as a teen - had a huge procedure to do it, too. Never got caught. But I was up to no good. I can tell you now that I have a 15 year old that if I suspected him sneaking out, I wouldn't just 'let it happen', 'be friends with him' or 'just talk to him'. That wouldn't have worked for me and it won't work for him.

But, being a parent is about being THE PARENT, making the rules that teens are meant to test. No, you're not your teen's friend. You are their parent.

Some of the posts on here were so great - really some super parenting. The post about the milk lol and the moms and dads waiting in the kids rooms. Just classic.

Thanks for reminding me of the fun of childhood and the reason why I'm glad I'm a parent now. :)

Stake out in the yard with thermal imagery devices, when they come out, throw road flares and detain them.

Give me a break. I'm 39 years old now and I think I've become a pretty good adult, father, and husband. BUT....back in 'the day' I wanted to have my fun and by God, I was going to have it.

My parents didn't raise me to be bad or do things against my upbringing but I did them anyway because I wanted to have "Big Fun".

This whole notion of 'talk to you kids' is great in THEORY, but in actual practice, EVERY FUCKING ONE OF US as teens did what we wanted to. Yes, I got punished when I got caught but nevertheless I did what I HAD TO DO to go out and have "Big Fun" and do the crazy teen things crazy teens do.

I drank to excess. I smoked marijuana. I got laid with 15-18 yr. old girls who were somebody else's "Daddy's Little Princess". Thank God I don't have a daughter.

Bottom line, yes be a good parent. Do what you can to guide your kids in the right direction. But don't beat yourself up too bad when your kid turns out to be a little shit because, you know what? THEY are the one who is a little shit. It doesn't have to be because of the way you raised them.

My parents raised me well. But I became a little shit. I had "Big Fun". And when I ultimately matured, I became the man they raised me to become.

"Big Fun". You can't stop it. You can only try to guide them in how to handle it.

I'm a teen myself and the honest best thing to do is just giv them an easy exit and entrance route so that they dont hav to plan or scheme because it just makes them feel invincible, so really as long as u dont think your sone is out doing drugs or killing people you should just let it happen, teenagers have to be teenagers which means sneaking out occasionally

1.Fit keyed window locks to all windows and keyed door locks (the kind that wont open without the key) to all doors except the front.
2.Lock all of these and hide the keys where your kid cant get to them.
3.For the front door, if you have the money, buy and fit a programmable keypad entry lock (the kind where you can set a time limit for when the codes will work). Give your kid a code (so they can get back in after school etc) but disable the code from after curfew until say 7am or 8am the next morning. Kid sneaks out, door is closed, it locks, kid comes back at 3am or whatever, tries his code, door wont open and gets busted.

If you dont have the money for a programmable keypad lock on the front door, fit something like the Super Grip Lock. Put it in place at night. If the kid sneaks out, they will have to remove the Super Grip Lock and if they do that, they are busted when you check and see that its not there.
To prevent the kid from re-attaching the Super Grip Lock when they sneak back in, buy a packet of tamper-evident stickers and stick one over the Super Grip Lock. When the kid opens it to sneak out, the tamper evident sticker is damaged and its obvious that they snuck out and re-attached the Super Grip Lock.

Once its been done for a few days and they know they will get busted, they will stop trying to sneak out.

Having the Super Grip Lock there will also help protect against bad guys trying to get into your house (including tradespepole or cleaners or etc who have your keys or had them and kept copies)

i am fifteen.. i sneak out about five days out of the week. i AM capable of having those thoughts, thank you, i just choose to ignore them. if i do have second thoughts about doing it, its not because of what my mother can do to me, its the fear of disappointing her. if you want your child to mind you, don't be their 'nazi nightmare'.. be their friend.

Skip that....

Go right for the leg shackles...to the bed.

Uh oh, male teens sneak out to participate in gay sex orgies and attend Illuminati cult programming ceremonies. This is not good.

Good idea, but a little late in OP's case.

You need to do this when they are 3 to 4 years old. Keep 'em locked until 24 or 25.

Then release them in the middle of the night a few towns away. They don't know their last name, don't know where they live so you won't be in trouble with the pesky authorities.

No troubles for 20 years!! Can't beat that.

I never had a curfew ... and thus never had to "sneak out". My parents ALWAYS wanted to know where I was going though, and did on occaission check up to see if I was actually there.

Since I worked two jobs in high school and needed the money so I wasn't up for partying much, though on the weekends it did happen. Back then, when the laws were lax compared to today, you tended to do it at a friend's house or barn WITH THEIR PARENTS SOMEWHERE AROUND. Nowdays the parents can't be anywhere around or "know anything" or it is a FELONY! (sheesh ... now not even remote supervision is allowed to kids partying! I do NOT think that is any sort of improvement)

Now there are more serious drugs around than when I was a kid and it was mostly alcohol, though there was also some weed, which changes the dynamics (around here there is now a lot of Brown Heroin that high school kids are starting to use, MUCH cheaper than cocain!).

SEX is going to happen, always has among teens ... and may be the easiest thing to deal with. Be sure to have a good education with them about it. Make sure the boys know where to buy condoms (YOU don't buy them for them) and the girls have PRIVATE talks with their personal doctors and have the money to buy Birth Control Pills if they want to. If you find Birth Control Pills for your kid, or condoms ... do NOT say anything!! Just play dumb and be thankful that they are trying to avoid getting pregnant because you will NOT stop them from having Sex.

my big bro snuck out last night i should looking up to him i only know cuz i read his messages but i told my dad i heard him open the door.

Yeah... i think you guys are over reacting. We shouldnt spy on our kids, caus that Just gives a huge sighn on us that we dont trust our kids. And its Just apart of being a teenager right?I bet all of you parents probly snuck out when you were young right?