Dear Dr. Essig,

My senior prom is coming up soon. I am so excited! And my parents are excited for me. My boyfriend and I have been going steady since middle school, and my parents like him very much. Both sets of parents approve of our relationship. And they are all happy that we will be attending the same college in the fall. Neither my boyfriend nor I have ever caused our parents anxiety—until now.

 

My boyfriend and I both drive, and neither one of us has ever had an accident or a traffic ticket, which we think speaks well of our character. Our parents have banded together and decided that we cannot drive any of the family cars to the prom, which is located only 10 miles from where we live. Since all of our friends will be going to Magic Mountain after the prom, our parents insist on driving us to the prom, to Magic Mountain, and home again afterwards. Imagine what our friends will think; they will think that our parents treat us like little children.

 

–Why Can’t We Drive?

 

Dear Why Can’t We Drive,

 

Thank you for bringing this issue to the forefront. You and your boyfriend are “over the moon” with your high school graduation, senior prom, and college plans. Your parents share this excitement with you. But there is one emotion your parents are feeling that is different from the exhilaration you are experiencing. That emotion is fear. To one degree or another, most parents feel fear when their teenagers are driving. That fear is intensified on prom night. Why? Statistics show that the accident rate on prom night is higher than usual, and that is the root of your parents’ angst.

 

Let me offer you a compromise—one that you, you boyfriend, and the parents can all live with. Instead of having anyone’s parents drive you to the prom, to Magic Mountain, and home again, how about having both families, including you and your boyfriend, split the cost of a taxi or car service for the evening. That way, instead of ridiculing you, your friends will envy you. And your parents will not have to worry about you and your boyfriend driving on the same road as all of the other teenage drivers.

 

Learn to be a leader and a trend setter. Set an example that other kids can follow. By thinking outside of the box, you can teach this year’s juniors to plan ahead and to save money early so that next year they can follow in your footsteps!

 

Ride to prom in style, and then let me know how it went. Congratulations on your high school graduation, and on your entry into college. A high school prom is a once-in-a-lifetime event…enjoy yourself!

 

Dr. Essig

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 12:31 pm and is filed under Parenting Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.