Winter is almost over and thoughts of the upcoming spring season are warming everyone up. While some adults may be thinking about the change of seasons and planning their spring cleaning, many teens are thinking about just one thing: SPRING BREAK!
Once mainly a college ritual, spring break fever has hit high schools across the country. Many teens might be busy planning the trip of their lifetime (or, at least, of the year) to some sunny, overcrowded beach with hoards of other young spring breakers from all over the country. Wherever the trip might take them, teens everywhere are excited about a week to have fun without school, with friends, and away from their parents. For many teens, spring break translates to "NO RULES."
The best way for parents to ensure that their teens enjoy a safe and responsible spring break is to discuss rules and expectations beforehand. While many parents make it clear what they expect of their children, other parents may not have had this important conversation with their teens. They may even feel uncomfortable or unsure of how to approach the subject. They may not realize that spring break is often synonymous with alcohol abuse and other risky and/or illegal behaviors. Or, they may not be aware of how much they influence their teens' lives. Discussing their concerns and making their expectations clear is one of the most effective ways parents can influence their child not to use drugs or alcohol. Spring break is a great time to have this discussion again.
Spring break is infamous for wild parties, risky behavior, consumption of alcohol, and use of illegal substances. For many teens, it is a chance to get a taste of freedom from authority for a week. Unfortunately, this can be disastrous. The highest risks include promiscuity leading to unprotected sex, inebriation leading to assault, and illegal activities leading to arrest. Crimes such as vandalism, theft, assault, and rape commonly occur during spring break. While not all teens take part in violent crimes and not all teens are victims, your teen could still be involved in unlawful activities over spring break. With the abundance of alcohol and substance abuse, it is no wonder that spring break opens so many opportunities for the commission of crime. In fact, according to the United States Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, more than 2,500 Americans are arrested each year while on spring break. Most of these arrests are drug related, usually dealing with marijuana. Alcohol also contributes to the crime occurrences.
If you are a parent of a teen "spring breaker," be sure to instill in your teen the dangers and risks that are involved in an unsupervised trip. It is important to let teens know that they are encouraged to develop their independence but that independence comes with responsibilities. Explain to them that while you trust them, you still worry for their safety and expect them to follow the same rules of behavior that are expected from them at home.
