Halton Regional Police Service

Prom TipsFor Parents

Excellence IntegrityJustice Trust and Respect

TeamworkAccountability

Actions speak louder than words.• Youcantalkallyouwant,butyourbehavioursendsastrongermessage.

• Thebestwaytoteachkidsaboutresponsibledrinkingistosetapositive,responsibleexample.

• Thinkabouttheroledrinkingplaysinyourlife,andaskyourselfwhatmessageyou’resendingtoyourkids.

Talk it up.• Talktoyourkids.

• Talkwithotherparentsandschoolofficialsabouthowtoensurepromactivitiesaresafe.

• Ifyou’rehostingaparty,consultotherparentsabouttheirteens’parties.Theirexperiencesmaybeinvaluable.

• Workwithotherparents,theschoolorcommunitymemberstodiscourageorpreventbushparties,whichcaneasilygetoutofhandandoftenresultinimpaireddriving.

What’s the plan?• Knowyourkids’plansinadvance-wherethey’llbeandwithwhom.

• Discusswiththemhowtheywoulddealwithdifficultsituations,whatkindofsecurityorsupervisiontherewillbeatpartiesandevents,andhowtheywillgethome.

• Takeeveryopportunitytoreinforcethemessagethatit’sneverokaytogetaridefromsomeonewho’simpaired.

• Createa‘No Questions Asked’contractwithyourkidsenablingthemtocallhomeanytimeforaride.

Host with the most.• Ifyou’rehostingtheparty,you’reresponsibleforyourguests’behaviourifthey’reimpaired,evenaftertheyleaveyourparty.Iftheyareinvolvedinacrashorhurtsomeone,youcouldbeheldliable.

• Setalimitonthenumberofguestsanddon’thesitatetocallthepoliceifthingsgetoutofhand.

Progress Through Participation

• Makesurethereareenoughadultsaroundforthenumberofteenspresent.

• Remember,itisillegaltoservetothoseunder19andtoallowminorstodrink.

Dry roads.• Ifyourteenagerplanstohirealimowithfriends,makesurethecompanydoesn’ttoleratedrinkinginthecar.

• It’simportanttohaveaback-upplan,somakesureyourkidscarryacellphoneand/orcabmoneyincaseofemergency.Fromacellphone,theycanaccessataxibycalling#TAXI.

Emergency measures.• Besuretokeepemergencynumbersonhand,justincase.

• If,despiteyourprecautions,someonepassesout,neverleavethemalone.Theycouldbesufferingfromalcoholpoisoning.Call9-1-1immediatelyandturnthemontotheirside,withtheirheadontheirsideaswell,topreventchokingiftheyvomit.

Formoreinformationonsafeproms,visitwww.haltonpolice.caortheLCBOwebsiteatwww.lcbo.com/prom.

Tolearnmoreaboutalcoholanddrugs,andtheireffects,calltheCentreforAddictionandMentalHealth’sDrug, Alcohol and Mental Health Information Lineat1-800-463-6273,orvisittheirwebsiteatwww.camh.net.

The Halton Regional Police Service thanks the LCBO for permission to adopt its prom tips.

For more information, contact:Halton Regional Police Service

905-825-4777 or 905-878-5511www.haltonpolice.ca