Five Tips for Parents: Preparing your child for New Years

End of schooling celebrations are often the first time a young person has gone on vacation on their own. As a parent, this can be daunting in itself!

We know you must be so proud of your child as they have navigated such a big year - and you may be a little worried as they venture to yet another big event: Schoolies. But don’t fear- we’ve seen young people come together to celebrate graduation since 1997, and in this time we’ve learnt a lot. We’ve taken some time to put together some of our top tips for parents in preparing their young person for Schoolies week, so make yourself a cuppa, sit down, and read through our tips below.

#Parent Tips for New Years:

1. Read through the accommodation agreement.

2. Cook and freeze meals for them.

3. Have important conversations with your young person.

4. Organise a check-in day.

5. Add an In Case of Emergency (ICE) number and other important numbers into your teen's phone

01 Read through the accommodation agreement

For many young people, this will be the first time they are staying in accommodation without their parents. While this can be exciting, it also means there are added responsibilities for them to be aware of in order to keep their manager on their side. New Years in particular is a time when accommodation providers will often have additional policies, so it’s a good idea to read through the agreement with your young person so they understand what the provider expects of them- and what could potentially lead to being evicted mid-celebrations.

Some accommodation place age limits on booking or require an adult to be present at check in, so knowing this beforehand will save you an unexpected car trip. If either of you have any questions about the agreement, give the provider a call and ask for clarification to ensure your young person’s check-in and stay is as easy as possible for everyone.

02 Cook and freeze meals for them

Not every student took home-ec or hospitality, and sometimes this means young people end up eating noodles for the week at New Years - not ideal! We as Red Frogs encourage young people to eat well during New Years because we know it can be a big week which noodles- and even our delicious pancakes- can’t fully sustain them for.

In our New Years Program delivered in high schools throughout the lead up to the end of the year, we encourage students to do a grocery shop for easy to prepare but nutritious meals (such as avo on toast or tacos, and buying fruit as snacks!) and also suggest asking parents or family members to prepare and freeze meals they can take with them to New Years. This can even turn into a fun family activity by preparing meals ahead of time together.

03 Have important conversations with your young person

There are a number of issues young people may face or be challenged with in environments like parties or New Year.

At Red Frogs, some of the more serious incidents we assist with often involve alcohol, sexual assault or mental health. We’ve written previously on how to have these conversations with your young person so they know who to call to help them handle these situations

04 Organise a check in day

Even if they don’t admit it, your teen will definitely miss you while they are away! Before they head off, organise a day (or days) you can check in with each other. It will help you feel less anxious and your young person will appreciate the love!

05 Add an In Case of Emergency (ICE) number (and any other important numbers) in your teen’s phone

An ICE number is a number that first responders can access to contact the next of kin of someone they are attending. Decide with your child who their emergency contact should be, and then add this into their phone as a lock screen. You can learn how to do this for iPhones, Androids and Samsungs through the link below.

In the case of an emergency young people are urged to always call 111 first - they won't get in trouble, the emergency responders are there to help!

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