This month and next month will mark the Prom Season at most of our High Schools in the area. I remember my Junior and Senior Proms at Bishop McDevitt High School. I can still remember my dates. Our Senior Prom was at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel is Center City Philadelphia and went to 5AM. We had a great time, but it was an exhausting night.
I think the reason the prom went to 5 AM is that junior licenses were not valid between 11 PM and 5 AM. Thinking back, I am not sure it was such a great idea to keep us up all night so we could drive home legally. You don’t want a bunch of tired teen drivers on the road at 5 AM.
I want to help you make the prom a wonderful memory for your teen. Make sure you have a discussion with your teen about the prom and driving. Set the ground rules for the night. Explain to them your reasoning for the rules. Your teen’s chance of having an accident increases dramatically when there are passengers in the car. Let them know this and remind them to stay focused on the driving. Remind them not to use their cell phones or text while driving.
Hopefully you had your son/daughter sign a teen driving contract when they first started driving and listed the consequences for breaking the rules. This would make the conversation a bit easier since you have already laid the ground work.
These nights usually are late nights for parents, but it is important that you let your teen know that he/she is what is important that night. Get the pictures and post them for your friends. Order the flowers and arrange for the limo if that is your thing. But make sure your teen knows that they can call you if they need a ride because they get tired or have been drinking.
You may want to offer to chauffer them to the prom. I had a lot of fun a few years back when I drove my niece Sarah to her Prom. I dressed up as Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. You should have seen the reaction of her date and the people at the prom when I opened the door for them. Not to mention the looks I got when I drove myself home. Great laughs and memories!
For more information on how to help your teen become a safer driver and to get a copy of the teen contract, check out our website designed just for the parents of teen drivers at www.teendriverinsurance.com/spencer.
Have a great time at the Prom!!
