After Prom Safety Tips

The High School Prom should preferably be a celebration that delivers life-long memories for teenagers. It usually is an evening of anticipation, excitement and one of the greatest celebrations of their life. Although some kids go home to sleep, many others attempt a traditional custom of continuing the party until early morning. A number of schools have made it a tradition to hold after-prom events which are sponsored by the PTSA and local businesses. These types of events create a safe controlled alternative instead of allowing students to head off on their own after the prom. The morning hours after the Prom can often be the most dangerous. Parents that will be hosting kids at their home during this time, need to bear in mind and relay to their kids that if you allow underage alcohol consumption or additional drug use on your property and one of the kids gets hurt, you could be held responsible. You could also be sued. Consider the following Prom Planning Ideas whenever communicating with your teenager regarding prom health and safety: You want to make the time to begin the conversation early on to allow for an ongoing discussion with your child. Remember to go over a detailed plan for the entire night.

As a parent, you should have the following information:

- What are their plans for transportation for the evening? What is an emergency backup plan for transportation if someone is not able to drive safely?
- Exactly where will your teen be they be before prom? Where will they plan to be for dinner?
- Who will they contact in an emergency? Be sure to determine backup contacts as well
- Where are they planning to go after the prom is over?
- If they are preparing to be at a friend’s residence in the course of the night, make sure you contact the friend's parents to verify as well as ensure that alcohol or other drugs will not be present.
- If your child plans to attend an after prom celebration at someone else’s residence, ask your child for a complete list of names of other students who will be invited to party.
- Does your child know the symptoms of alcohol poisoning and when it is necessary to call for emergency assistance?
- Arrange to meet your child’s prom date prior to the  event in order  to discuss plans for the evening.
- Establish an agreed upon curfew and check-in periods of when you will talk to your teen.
- Ensure that your teen’s cell phone is charged, turned on and with them at all times.
- Reinforce that you simply do NOT want your teen to drive in a vehicle with anybody under the influence.
- Remind your teen that their safety is the highest priority and that they can always contact you for help.

Planning Your After Prom Party

In an effort to keep students safe, parent groups across the country host high school after prom parties. Next spring, many high school juniors and seniors will be making plans to go to their proms during the of April, May and June. This memorable night is often known as an evening in which teenagers can gather with their friends and celebrate the end of the school year in addition to their maturing independence. Tragically, a lot of those students won’t make it home.  In reacent years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 46 % of traffic deaths among 15-20 year-olds during the time of prom weekends were alcohol-related. Over the past 20 years, parents, student leaders and administrators of many high school have decided to take action in helping to save the lives of students by offering supervised entertainment during the hours after the prom. These school sponsored after-prom events provide a safe alternative to potentially dangerous after prom activities. In some cases, students don’t even have to attend the prom to enjoy the after prom fun-based activities. Planning an event of this scale is not an small undertaking and the cost can be expensive. It can take up to thousands of dollars per year for the to host a successful after-prom event. When planning an after prom, the main factors to keep in mind are facility rental, entertainment, catering, decorations, activities, and also prizes. A lot of the funding for this can be raised by volunteers involved in the PTSA or an official After Prom Committees. These groups can usually successfully can raise funds by holding events through out the school year and seeking donations from local vendors.

 Always keeping the safety of students at the forefront, most After Prom Committees for these events should enforce the following rules: 
 - After Prom is an alcohol, drug, and tobacco free event
 - Students must register any guests that they plan to bring to the event and all must show a student ID the night of After Prom - There is no admission after a specific time (i.e. 2am)
- Once the students enter, they must stay for duration of the event. Usually these events run until at least 4am.
- Entrance and exit times are documented by the organizers
- If the event is not being held on school grounds, transportation should be arranged so that the students can arrive and depart safely.

Options for After Prom Activities:

Entertainment: You can book anything comedian, improv troupe, DJ, magic show or hypnotist show for your event.

Activities: Turkey Bowl Giant Twister Interactive Games Inflatables Photo Booths Mechanical Bull Karaoke Arcade Games Movie Showings Rock Climbing Walls Carnival Games Obstacle Courses Basketball, Volleyball and other indoor sports. All are GREAT fun for students.

Why Your School Should Host and After-Prom Party

Why it's SOOOO Important to Organize and After-Prom Event My after prom breakfast was a lot of fun. Actually, I can safely say I had more fun at the after-prom school event than the actual prom! We had it at a sport complex and our event started after the prom and went until 5am! We had so much fun. I think we had a great turn out. Most of the students that went to prom came to the after-prom. At the time I didn't realize why it was so important. Now looking back at all the horrible things that can go wrong after a Senior prom, I understand WHY! Obviously the number one reason is safety. Parents and administrators want their students to be safe. By keeping them all in one place it means that they will be off the streets and not behind the wheel of a car. Too many accidents and unfortunate events have a historically bad track record after Senior proms. Kids want to party and some of them want to party hard. The best place for them to party is at a school event that offers a lot of activities to keep them happy without involving alcohol or drugs. If your school decides to host the event on campus property then it's a great idea to have a lock-in. Once the students arrive, they must stay for the entire event. If the school decides to have it at another venue then they should make arrangement for buses/transportation for the student to and from the event. Having some type of activity planned for the night will greatly benefit the safety of all students.