Prom season is right here and with that comes a lot of stress for your children. This dance is built up to be the perfect night and your children might become frustrated if everything does not go smoothly in the run-up. Here’s a quick guide on how to be a helpful parent in the run-up to prom.
Make a Game Plan
When everyone begins to plan prom, sit down with your children and find out what help they need with planning. Your children are very nearly adults, they may be about to go away to college, and they might not want Mommy holding their hand through this process. If that is the case, step back and allow them to come to you when they have a problem. Wading in, even with good intentions, can backfire and cause unnecessary arguments.
Help Source Outfits
If you have a daughter, trying to find prom dresses she likes can often be compared to trying to find a wedding dress. Looking online can be a great place to start. Check out Jovani prom dresses for inspiration; your daughter might even find one she really likes here. You should also head to your local dress shop. The advantage of going here over ordering online is that these shops will keep a record of which dresses have been sold. This means that your daughter will be able to guarantee that no-one will turn up to prom in the same dress as her.
Keep on Top of the Details
Your children might be more focused on the dance itself, or their outfits, and they may forget some of the smaller details. They will have a rental to get to the venue, but how are they getting home? Dresses, hair, and makeup have been arranged but what about shoes and purses? These are some of the things which might be forgotten but they are a key part of the night. If you think your children have forgotten, gently remind them that they need to think about these too.
Why not get them a disposable camera to take along? Many people love the retro aesthetic of disposable cameras. Your child can take as many crisp and perfect selfies as they want with their smartphones but you just can’t beat some candid, in the moment shots like a disposable camera has.
Offer to Host Beforehand
Quite often your children and their friends will want to get together beforehand to take photos and get in the right mood for the celebrations. Offer to host this little gathering at your house, especially if you have a garden which would make a nice backdrop for photos. Put together a snack table and some fun little non-alcoholic mocktails for them to sip on before they go away. If they have a dinner as part of the evening, it is likely to be quite a wait away and they will be grateful for the snacks to keep them going. Organising a little get-together like this allows them to relax and enjoy the final run-up with their friends.
Arrange Destressing Activities
If your children have organised everything themselves, why not arrange a few destressing activities to help them relax before the big night? It could even tie into their prom preparations with a spa day. They could have a massage to unwind, a facial to get their faces baby-soft and ready for make-up application, and then finish up with a manicure and pedicure. Alternatively, you can just take them out of the prom preparation headspace entirely. Go to your favourite place together; whether that is a restaurant, a beach, a museum, or the cinema. Do something together which is completely unrelated to prom and it will hopefully help them to take their mind off everything they still need to prepare.
Remind Them It’s Supposed to Be Fun
Whether they are on the prom committee or just attending as a guest, there is a very real possibility that they might become too fixated on having the perfect prom. Take the opportunity to remind them that it is supposed to be fun. This is one of the last chances they will get to spend time with their high school friends before they all go their separate ways into college and adult life. They need to relax and have fun at prom.
It doesn’t matter how you support your child through prom season. No matter whether you end up making the calls to the car rental and hiring the dress or whether you sit back and let them arrange everything, there is plenty you can do to help them through the process. Find out what kind of support your child needs now and help them have the prom of their dreams.