Drunk teenager- punishment or not?

[Stressedgiraffe]

Dd 18 last night went out to the cinema after college and ended up horrendous shit faced.
The plan was for dh to meet her off the bus and walk her home. We live in a village with hourly bus in evenings
She missed her stop and ended up in the next village.
Luckily there was a pub next to the busstop and they gave her water and security waited with her till the next bus back to us.
The bus driver refused to let her on.
So this resulted in a panic to get a taxi to collect her.
We don't drive so I ended up getting a £60 taxi to collect her. For a 5 min drive . As it needed to be paid from our city to our village to where she was and back.
Dh thinks she should be punished but I don't know. She doesn't have a job but has an interview next week.
I'm just glad she got home safely
What should we do?

She should pay for the taxi, but I wouldn't punish her. If she has a problem again you want her to contact you not try to go it alone and put herself in danger.

Yeah this. How do you end up in a village with an hourly bus routes and no car?

From the OP

We have 4 buses an hour till 8 which is quite good . It's only after 8 that it's hourly and she's never had a problem before.

there are 4 buses an hour until 8pm and then hourly after that which is frankly better than most towns let alone a village! they don’t live up a mountain in the Lake District

Hopefully she’ll have horrendous hangover. That is probably the worst punishment.
She pays back the taxi money and hopefully learns from this.
We’ve all been there, off my face on cider at 16. The first and only time, just the smell makes me heave 50 years on 😆

How can you punish an adult?! Bizarre. Maybe get her to pay money back otherwise be glad she called you when she needed you.

If she gets punished it might make her wary of calling you in the future if she’s in trouble. And how can you punish an 18 year old anyway? My DD got herself into drunken scrapes from age 15 but I never punished her.
She could sense my disappointment and that was enough.

She made a mistake. It’s much better for her to learn whilst living at home than learn after she’s moved out. At least she had someone home wondering where she was. I can’t see the point in “punishing” an adult. You want her to feel comfortable to call on you if she’s in trouble.

If this is unusual for her I would, after the dust has settled, sitting down or going out for coffee and checking everything is ok. Of course she needs to pay you back for the taxi, acknowledge she put herself in danger and that it's disrespectful to you. But if she's suitably embarrassed then just check nothing else is wrong. It just seems to me getting that drunk at the cinema is strange.

It's easy to drink more than intended (unless her drink was spiked) especially when you are young and less experienced. She needs support and understanding, not punishment (she's an adult technically, anyway). I might ask for all or some of the fare to be refunded - more likely if I thought she'd been intentionally irresponsible.

Her learning to drive is a good idea but wouldn't have helped on this occasion.

I'd think the experience should have taught her to be careful with alcohol if she needs to get home under her own steam. Save it for when she knows she can get home safely or stay with a friend.

We have all done some very stupid things when drunk. If she is usaully a good sensible lass then the hangover and shame will probably be enough punishment

Except they can't

She is 18, not a child to be 'punished'.

Tell her she owes you £60 and that she was really daft to put herself in a position where she was vulnerable (drunk, alone, no transport).

Hopefully she will learn from it.

My 18 year old also has a horrendous hangover today. Lesson learned
shes your daughter she was in an unsafe situation and you rescued her. TBH I would just be glad she got home safe and tell her if it happens again when she is working she will need to pay the fare. I grew up rurally and walked home along unlit roads drunk as I missed a bus. Anything could have happened. Give yourself a pat on the back for being a great parent and rescuing her and leave her to suffer the hangover. Then a gentle chat re safety ( but I expect she has worked this out for herself)

Yes. Why on earth don't grown adults drive?

She's 18, she pays you back the taxi dare. As a previous rural teen it's pretty shit.

She’s 18 and everyone does it once (or I certainly did!). I would ask her to pay you back for the taxi when she gets a job. Other than that, the hangover and should be be enough punishment. I imagine she feels awful today!!

From the OP

Unfortunately dh is disabled so can't drive. I have medical problems so I am unable to drive.

As others have said, she owes you £60.

She's 18 an adult, absolutely ridiculous suggestion. An 18 year old getting drunk, messing up as a result, is not exactly unusual.

18 legally an adult

They should pay the taxi fare & contemplate about drinking & keeping safe

Gosh, living in a village with limited public transport, £60 taxis and no family car must be proper hard.

As a parent it is now and forever your duty to embarrass her with this story until the end of time, specifically at her wedding, major birthdays, meeting new boyfriends etc 😅

A roll of the eyes and a taxi bill seems like sufficient punishment ;-)

I think every teenager is allowed one of those, and the parental response should be "Well, that was stupid and dangerous and you obviously feel awful. Don't do it again - are we clear about that? Here's a double-strength aspirin. Go back to bed and I'll bring you up a bacon sandwich later."

Did your £60 5 minutes taxi fare involve a cleaning fee?