13 Things to Remember to Keep Your Kids Safe at Schoolies

Keeping kids safe at schoolies is a challenge for all parents. There’s the inevitable panic of ‘What if they don’t come home?’, ‘What if they do something horrible?’ and ‘What if someone takes advantage of them?’.

These concerns can be eased by arming yourself with the right information about what to expect from your teen and their new adult friends. With the right preparation and support network, you can trust that your child will have an amazing time without putting themselves in danger.

Here are 13 things to remember that will help keep your kid safe at schoolies.

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I remember the feeling all too well.

Walking out of the school gates for the last time to a sense of elation, and freedom and slightly shitting my pants over what was going to happen next.

This year, like every year before, Year 12 graduates are letting their hair down to embrace the joy that is Schoolies.

Mine was rather uneventful but memorable. A trip up north with a close group of friends to the sand, surf, and sun of Great Keppel Island and a fling with a footballer (that actually turned into a bit of a long-distance gig for a time).

The thought of partying it up on the Gold Coast didn’t appeal to me, but others are much more adventurous than I was.

I like to think I was the model schoolie. Although there were a few sneaky drinkies, I was in regular contact with my parents and stuck with my friends so we were always safe.

I have yet to experience the phenomenon that is schoolies as a parent, but for those of you who are in amongst it right now, or who will be soon, here are some tips on how to keep your teen safe.

1. Start the conversation, ask questions, set some ground rules, stay in touch

That’s the catch phrase plastered all over the Queensland Government’s Schoolies info pamphlet, and while lots of those things can be challenging for a parent dealing with teens wanting to exert their own independence, it is a good place to start.

After all, getting the attitude of teenagers right before they go can help to keep them safe.

2. Carry an appropriate ID

First things first, your teen should always carry an ID with them, it can be an 18+ card, keypass, driver’s licence or passport. This will help them get into safe venues designated for schoolies, which keep Toolies (the older ones who want to relive their youth) and Foolies (the underagers who want to pretend they are graduates) out.

3. Buddy system

The key message is Be Safe, Watch Your Mates. Reinforce the importance of sticking with their group, because the people they meet might be nice, but they are still strangers.

Communication is the key and parents should meet and get to know the mates their teens will be travelling or staying with and swap phone numbers with their friends’ parents to boost the communication network.

4. Negotiating boundaries

Although your teen is getting older and doing many things independently, they still need you to set boundaries. Raising Children.net.au says young people often depend on family or the promises they make to parents to explain to friends why they can’t do certain things.

Encourage them to plan their days because kids who find themselves in trouble at Schoolies Week do silly things out of boredom.

Teenagers with a plan for each day are going to have a far more memorable experience than those who are waiting for something good to happen.

5. Get them to contribute

There is nothing worse for teenagers than getting something for free, because they don’t appreciate it. They’re more likely to make sensible choices if they’re paying for some of it or wasting their own money.

6. Safety services

Although the government doesn’t encourage participation in schoolies, it hasn’t turned a blind eye to the fact that it is happening.

They ensure there is adequate police and security at known hot spots to promote safety and organisations like the Red Frogs Australian Chaplaincy Network are also positioned in popular locations to provide peer-to-peer support (and delicious 3am pancake cook-ups) where needed.

The Red Frogs Hotline is 1300 557 123 and they can request a crew member to walk them home, assist with cleaning rooms or help to mediate problems between other schoolies.

7. Emergencies

Tell your teen that it is important that they know they can call an ambulance in a time of emergency. The police will not be notified unless the paramedics are being prevented from carrying out their duties or a crime is being committed.

8. Privacy and social media

Have the chat about Snapchat and other social media that can, and will, follow them around. Make sure they are aware of the image they are presenting and encourage them to abstain from social media while they are out partying as anything posted online can and will be accessible to their future and current employers.  Yes, people have lost their jobs over social media gaffes before.

9. Sexual health

Talk about safe sex, even if you don’t approve or it makes you feel uncomfortable. A young person armed with the right knowledge can avoid common mistakes.

10. Peer pressure

Yes, it is happening. All. The. Time. The key is to arm your teen on how to handle it.

If you have concerns, talk to them about their behaviour and not their friends’, because criticising their friends will probably make matters worse.

Encourage them to trust their own sense of what is right or wrong and discuss the short and long-term consequences that could result from certain behaviours.

11. Alcohol

Don’t let them convince you to buy them alcohol (it could cost you a tidy $8,000) and encourage them to avoid high alcohol-content pre-mixed drinks if they are over 18.

Remind them to be extra cautious with drinks, and not to let their drink out of sight or accept one from a stranger. Drink spiking does happen.

Talk to them about pacing their alcohol intake and hydrating with non-alcoholic drinks like water and remind them to eat a good meal before they drink preferably carbohydrate-rich food such as rice, bread, pasta, pizza because it’ll help slow the rate their body absorbs alcohol.

The police can and will arrest teens for drunk and disorderly behaviour, so remind your teen the consequences of a criminal record such as affecting overseas travel and future career prospects.

12. Food and drink

Yes, it’s something we take for granted. We need to eat to live, but for many schoolies, this is their first time away from home and the first time they will be responsible for fending for themselves.

Take time to teach them the basics of cooking, so even if they survive on two-minute noodles, cereal and fruit for a week, at least they are getting some form of sustenance.

13. Contact details

You need to know where your child is and be able to contact your child, so it is essential to have the address and phone number of where your child is staying, the names and mobile phone numbers of the friends travelling with your child and also to confirm the group’s plans with the parents of your child’s friends.

Encourage them to contact you regularly while they’re away so you know they’re safe. After all, if they update you regularly, you won’t have to hassle them!

Help them to register as a school leaver with the local council or schoolies organisation in the area they are visiting.

So, with all of that ammunition loaded up, keep safe and enjoy this special milestone!

Keeping kids safe at schoolies can be nerve-wracking. As the school term wraps up, parents of secondary school students are often left with worrying questions. Will my child be okay going to schoolies? What if they drink too much and end up in hospital?

What if they meet the wrong people and get into trouble? How can I keep them safe? Thankfully, the majority of Australian teenagers have great judgment and ultimately make responsible decisions when it comes to drinking and choosing friends at schoolies.

However, there are still risks involved for young people who travel away from home for the first time and enter a high-risk environment with alcohol freely available.