Safe Prom -Sane Parents

Prom. Graduation. It is an exciting time for high schoolers but it can also be a dangerous one. Instead of biting your fingernails, how about taking a leadership role as a parent. Get pro-active instead of re-active. Proms and graduations are celebrations full of hopeful expectations. Each is a meaningful milestone that should be celebrated with family and friends. It can be a wonderful and memorable time in you and your child's life. There is a concern. Many students who would otherwise make good choices, might get caught up in the excitement and the peer pressure to do otherwise. Parents need to set appropriate expectations and continue to enforce household rules about alcohol use and curfews. Here's a few pointers from drug education specialist, Jeff Wolfsberg. ====================================================== 1. Curfews Studies show that teen car crashes increase exponentially late at night. If you decide to extend curfews, don't give large blocks of unaccounted for time. Know where your teen is, how long they will be there, and who is supervising the event. ******************************************************************************** 2. Do not rent a hotel room. Is anyone really surprised when a parent rents a hotel room and something horrible happens. If one is rented, an adult should be on the site and supervising the event. Parents are there to ensure safety and manage risk. ( Note: Liability is a concern to me. I would not want my name on the rental.) ######################################################### 3. Be up when they get home. A good anti-drug plan is coffee and lights. If a parent is up and awake, less happens and there is more accountability. A teen's curfew should never exceed a parent's ability to stay up. You know that old saying-Nothing good ever happens after midnight! @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 4. Initiate a dialogue about expectations. Although you may feel you have communicated your expectations often with your child, prom and graduation is a good time to reopen the discussion. Role play a few scenarios. Research shows that giving teens the opportunity to role play various situations and alternate endings strengthens their ability to make safe choices. *********************************************************************** 5. Keep the party local. Don't be tempted to allow your teen to go off to a remote location. Unsupervised, more driving, unfamiliar environment, all factors add to more risk. Gather other parents and offer an after- party that is supervised and safe. It's worth the effort, time and money. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ With prior planning the only horror your teen will look back on is a really bad hairdo or a neon tux. These are the type of memories we want them to live with. Nothing life altering. Just fun. chrissie