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A Rotorua teenager's parents used text messaging to shut down their son's party after fearing hundreds of gatecrashers would turn up.
Word got out about the party via texting and the boy, 17, and his parents use the same method to shut it down, prompting praise from Rotorua police.
The father, who did not want to be named, of the Western Heights High School student said his son had organised some "quiet drinks" for a handful of friends on Saturday at their Tupara Cres home in Kawaha Pt.
But his son started receiving texts from people he hardly knew, asking about the party. A family friend, who has a son at Rotorua Boys' High School, told him her son received texts telling him to "come to a party on Tupara Cres on Saturday night".
The boy had not been officially invited.
The man said he and his wife asked their son to text the friends he had invited, tell them the party was off and ask them to text others with the same message.
"We could see it was getting out of hand so we knew we couldn't let it go ahead. [Our son] was fine with it, he understood why we had to shut it down."
He said he did not want his son's party to get out of control like the recent Christchurch birthday party where two girls died after being run down by a car.
Word about that party was also thought to have been spread by text message.
"Thank God no one turned up on the night," the Rotorua father said.
"It's a shame though because it has put a dampener on other parties [my son] might want to have."
His daughter had a party for her 16th birthday four years ago and invited about 35 friends.
The party soon got out of hand and he and his wife called the police who got rid of the gatecrashers.
"The people inside the house were fine but the 200-odd kids hanging around outside on the road were the problem.
"I guess it's this modern technology that spreads the word around. Text messaging is a killer."
Rotorua police area commander Inspector Bruce Horne said the parents showed initiative by using text messaging to cancel the party.
"The parents are setting an example.
"That sort of responsibility is good to see and can save a lot of difficulty for the police."
He suggested parents sit down with their children if they were planning a party and decide the best way to invite guests.
"With text messaging and the internet it's easy for messages about parties to be posted in cyberspace. Prevention is better than cure.
- ROTORUA DAILY POST
