Vet the holiday bash your child wants to attend
Nov 30, 2010
THE long December holiday is here and with it comes the challenge of how to keep holiday makers busy to avoid boredom, while at the same time keep them off bad company and risky behaviour.
THE long December holiday is here and with it comes the challenge of how to keep holiday makers busy to avoid boredom, while at the same time keep them off bad company and risky behaviour.
It is the responsibility of every parent to know what their child is doing and where he or she is going.
Town is awash with leavers’ bash notices targeting Senior Four and Senior Six leavers. To relieve stress, your teenage daughter or son may express desire to attend these bashes. Before you grant this teenager permission to do so, first find out about the party. Establish who the organisers are and where the party is to be held. Is it in an enclosed and controlled environment? Can someone sneak out easily without being noticed? Does the venue serve alcohol or cigarettes?
You may have to talk to one or two of the organisers or if possible, physically go to the place prior to the event and assess the environment. Do the organisers have set rules to regulate the parties? How do they handle cases of indiscipline — alcohol abuse, smoking or even sexual activities?
Many holiday bashes have turned out to be venues for such vices — the party goers drink, smoke and engage in sex. In the past, newspapers have published graphic pictures of teenagers drinking and indulging in sex during such bashes, especially at the beaches, a representative of what goes on during many of such events. One way to monitor the situation is, for those people who have the means, to drop the child to the venues and pick them up after the party. For those, without the means, you can get the phone contacts of the organisers and closely monitor the child. This way, the child may not be carried away into the excitement which ends up in drinking sprees and sex orgies, resulting in accidents, fights, unwanted pregnancies and — worse , HIV/AIDS.
Parties are good. They help children explore their environment, learn to interact with others, take care of themselves in the absence of adults, manage their time and develop a sense of self-control.
Children who have no exposure to social interaction may get difficulties developing people skills when they are eventually left on their own, for example at university. Allowing them to attend these parties will, in a way, teach them to be responsible for their lives. Monitoring and guiding them, however, will go a long way to saving them from life-threatening incidences like alcohol consumption and HIV/AIDS.
It is the responsibility of every parent to know what their child is doing and where he or she is going.
Town is awash with leavers’ bash notices targeting Senior Four and Senior Six leavers. To relieve stress, your teenage daughter or son may express desire to attend these bashes. Before you grant this teenager permission to do so, first find out about the party. Establish who the organisers are and where the party is to be held. Is it in an enclosed and controlled environment? Can someone sneak out easily without being noticed? Does the venue serve alcohol or cigarettes?
You may have to talk to one or two of the organisers or if possible, physically go to the place prior to the event and assess the environment. Do the organisers have set rules to regulate the parties? How do they handle cases of indiscipline — alcohol abuse, smoking or even sexual activities?
Many holiday bashes have turned out to be venues for such vices — the party goers drink, smoke and engage in sex. In the past, newspapers have published graphic pictures of teenagers drinking and indulging in sex during such bashes, especially at the beaches, a representative of what goes on during many of such events. One way to monitor the situation is, for those people who have the means, to drop the child to the venues and pick them up after the party. For those, without the means, you can get the phone contacts of the organisers and closely monitor the child. This way, the child may not be carried away into the excitement which ends up in drinking sprees and sex orgies, resulting in accidents, fights, unwanted pregnancies and — worse , HIV/AIDS.
Parties are good. They help children explore their environment, learn to interact with others, take care of themselves in the absence of adults, manage their time and develop a sense of self-control.
Children who have no exposure to social interaction may get difficulties developing people skills when they are eventually left on their own, for example at university. Allowing them to attend these parties will, in a way, teach them to be responsible for their lives. Monitoring and guiding them, however, will go a long way to saving them from life-threatening incidences like alcohol consumption and HIV/AIDS.