With year 12 exams finishing, many kids will be heading off to Dusnborough, Rotto or points in-between to let their hair down and celebrate finishing school.
While a great time with their mates is the goal, it can be a worrying time for parents if their teenagers haven’t been away from home before and are likely to make decisions about alcohol, drugs and partying that could have long term consequences.
MORE: WA Police urging school leavers to have ‘no regrets’ Lifting the lid on Leavers: what really happens?
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOWHopefully you can trust your kids to make good decisions at the time or you’ve already had this conversation with them, but just in case you haven’t here’s my suggestions for practical things that might be worth covering off on.
TIP 1: So much of it is about alcohol…
If your child intends to drink (and let’s face it, the majority of them will) then it’s about knowing the limits and the safe ways to do it.
Make sure they drink lots of water and eat while they’re drinking, as dehydration will make them crash early and hard.
Alcohol makes you less aware of risk, so make sure they have mates going who can be relied on to look out for them.
Drink spiking really does happen at schoolies, so make sure they know to never leave drinks unattended.
TIP 2: Toolies are real…
Sad but true, there are people out there who prey on school leavers.
Drum into them to stay with their friends, never go anywhere with someone they don’t know, and be very selective about who they let into their room.
Stay in well-lit areas at night and never walk back from the party by yourself when you’ve had enough.
Of course all these decisions are usually affected by how much alcohol they’ve consumed, so see Tip 1 above.
TIP 3: Make sure they look after themselves and their mates…
Partying non-stop might be the aim but it will take its toll.
Make them frozen meals to take with them so that you know they’ll eat.
Give them a case of bottled water or two.
If they’re living in shared accommodation with their mates, make sure they know about boundaries and space so they all come back still friends.
If they’re likely to be out in the sun (which of course they are) then sun and swim safety is a must – hats, sunscreen, between the flags, etc. should all be things they know anyway but can’t hurt to remind them.
TIP 4: Drugs are a really bad idea…
I know that ‘just don’t’ is a message that often doesn’t cut through with kids, and we often focus on harm minimisation instead, but in this case my suggestion is to draw a line in the sand on this one.
Drugs supplied on schoolies could be absolutely anything, there’s no way to tell what affect they will have and no safe place to be taking them if they have a bad reaction.
Mixing drugs with the other drugs probably on offer, including alcohol, will make the effect much, much worse.
Might be worth reminding them that drugs are still illegal and police are everywhere at known schoolies spots, so chances are they’ll get caught and have to deal with that too.
TIP 5: Have a great time but be true to yourself…
They’re about to become adults – they need to act like them even when they’re partying.
Remind your kids that they have a mind of their own, that doing what everyone else is doing is just plain dumb if it makes them uncomfortable or they’re going to regret it later.
Make sure they have thought about their boundaries now, before they’ve drunk anything, so they hopefully remember them later when it’s important.
Life’s just opening up for them, so impress on them not to do anything stupid that they normally wouldn’t just because its schoolies.
And remind them that police are actually nice people, there to help and not to be afraid to approach them if they have any issues.
Most importantly, I’d suggest telling your kids you trust them and that you want this experience to be one of the best memories of their lives, not something they will shudder to look back on.
Maybe couching the conversation in terms of maximising their fun can get you some traction?