I had a simple but genius idea last night for any parents out there (us included) who might be dealing with teenagers who sneak out. This is especially an issue right now as it’s summer in Canada and so for about two months of the year, sneaking out at night is far more physically possible. If you’re not Canadian, this is the part where you picture trying to open a basement window that has two feet of snow piled against it, and digging your way out only to be subjected to gale force winds driving tiny blades of ice into your face. You’re out of the house but you’ll likely have frostbite before you get to the party, and there certainly isn’t anywhere hospitable in any park to go make out with your boyfriend/girlfriend. This is the reality for at least six months of the year for most Canadian teens. Hence, June-September is the only time we parents really need to think about the possibility of a middle-of-the-night jailbreak.

Anyway, the other night one of ours snuck out. He confessed the next day thanks to a mix-up which caused him to think he’d been found out, but we don’t want it happening again, obviously. Last night, he had friends sleeping over again. We were about to go to sleep around midnight and of course they were all still up. How would we know if they tiptoed out at 2 am?

AHA! I had an answer.

We took all their shoes (and Justan’s, as his feet are the same size) and hid them in our bedroom without telling them.

Sure, they could still sneak out. But if they did, we could rest assured that they’d be might uncomfortable.

I, for one, slept a lot better last night thinking about their cold feet (bonus: it was raining).

What do you do in your house to prevent kids sneaking out? I’ve never dealt with this in the city – I grew up in the country so I either had to have someone park quietly at the end of the driveway with their headlights off, or I’d be stuck walking (starting my own car would have been far too obvious). In the city they can just quietly leave and run to each other’s houses! This city business is bullshit in a lot of ways if you ask me.