Prom night can be stressful for parents! These tips will ensure a safe, worry free evening.

Know the Plan

Make sure your teen has a plan for the evening and that you know it. Ask the following questions and make sure both you and your teen know the answers:

What time does the prom begin and end?

Are you going to dinner beforehand or is there dinner at the prom?

Are you meeting other friends?

Is there an after-party sponsored by the school or at a friend's house? Who will be chaperoning?

How will you be getting to and from dinner/the prom/the after-party?

Know where the Parties Are

Know all of the "hot spot" destinations for pre- and post-prom parties. Do some research to find out if there will be adults present, whether or not there will be alcohol and who will be invited. You can tell a lot about a party by the kids who will be there.

Have an Emergency Code

Work out a safe code with your teen, something she can text you if there's trouble. Some kids simply text an "x" to their parents to indicate that they need to be picked up. The parent then calls with an "emergency" and asks where they can pick up their child, no questions asked.

Know Who Is Driving

If it's a limo, make sure it's a reputable company with properly screened drivers. If a friend or date is driving, make sure you know and trust their driving record.

If your teen isn't driving, and you can't pick them up in a pinch, make sure they have the number of a local cab company or they know how to hail an Uber or Lyft.

Encourage Car Safety

There are going to be all kinds of distractions on prom night. If your teen is driving, make sure they understand the consequences of things like texting, putting on makeup and even talking to passengers while driving.

If they're carpooling with friends, make sure there will only be one passenger per seat belt in the car, and that no one is bringing along alcohol for the ride.

Stay Up Late

If you can, stay up until your prom-goer safely returns home. You'll want to be able to answer any texts or calls, and you'll want to make sure they get home when they said they would.

If for some reason you can't stay up, designate an adult you trust to be a point of contact and lookout for your teen.

To all my seniors, BE SAFE, have fun, get lots of pictures. I love seeing all of your gorgeous gowns!! xoxoxo