Helping your teen

The end of year 12 is traditionally a time of celebration for students, and many take the opportunity to head off with friends to various Schoolies locations for a well-deserved break.

It’s the end of one journey and the beginning of another—it’s also a time of great change and mixed emotions.

Soon your teen may be moving away from home, so Schoolies can be a special time with friends they may not get to see much of in the future. It might also be the first time your teen has been away on holidays by themselves.

As parents and guardians, whilst you may be excited for your teen, the end-of-year celebrations can often leave you feeling a little uneasy. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed and concerned about the safety and wellbeing of your teen, but that's where we come in. We're here to help you prepare your teen for a safe and memorable Schoolies celebration.

Regardless of if, where, or how your teen is choosing to celebrate, they will still face situations of great responsibility and risk, and we want to help them safely navigate what can be a tricky time.

We can assist with resources, support, tips, and information for you to help make your teens Schoolies on the Gold Coast memorable, for all the right reasons.

We want all teens to be safe and watch their mates.

Follow us on our Parents Facebook Page to stay up-to-date with information about Schoolies in 2025 and get tips on how to support and prepare your teen ahead of their end of year celebrations.

Starting the conversation

We are often contacted by worried parents for advice on how to help their teens stay safe at Schoolies. Our answer is to bite the bullet and start talking about Schoolies as soon as possible so that they involve you in their plans from the start. Start the conversation early, ask questions, share important information, and don't shy away from the 'awkward' topics.

It's important in these conversations that you reinforce your teen’s rights and responsibilities as well as the risks involved in being away from home. Good choices make great futures.

Where to start?

• It is likely your teen will have started thinking about and planning Schoolies long before they hit Year 12, so the earlier you open Schoolies dialogue with them, the better.
• Encourage open communication with your teen. Stay calm, don’t lecture, listen and avoid conflict.
• Have the tough conversations with your teen . Communicate your expectations and concerns, provide clear reasons for your decisions but don’t forget to invite and explore their opinions too.
• Ask them why you shouldn’t be worried. This will often put the onus back on them to actually think about and communicate what strategies they will put in place to keep themselves safe.
• Negotiate and set boundaries together. Negotiating gives you and your teen the chance to work through different scenarios together of how to keep them safe. It also sends the message to your teen that you trust them and their ability to make good choices.
• Ask how they’re feeling about Schoolies. Let them know that they can come and talk to you about it at any time.

And remember, it’s okay for you to communicate that you don’t want your teen to go to Schoolies. If they are under the age of 18, it’s also okay for you to not allow them to.

Tips for helping your teen

Schoolies is often promoted as the best week of your teen’s life but this is often not the case. The human body is not designed to work without sleep, food, or water so non-stop partying for seven days is unrealistic—no matter how fit and healthy your teen is.

If your teen takes care of themselves and their mates, enjoy some downtime as well as the busy times, their Schoolies experience is sure to be memorable for all of the right reasons.

Top 10 points to help your teen protect their relationships and wellbeing during Schoolies

1. Remind your teen to stay true to themselves and stick to their choices and what’s right for them. Don’t do something that they normally wouldn’t do just because their peers are doing it and its Schoolies!
2. Get your teen to chat with the friends they’ll be staying with about morals, values, and acceptable behaviour to ensure they’re all on the same page during Schoolies.
3. Value and protect their friendships. Real friends should be respectful that everyone has different ideas on how they wish to celebrate.
4. Don’t make one wrong choice now that could possibly ruin a future.
5. The human body is not designed to party with no sleep for seven days straight. If a friend needs a night off partying, encourage your teen to be a good friend and stay in with them.
6. Discuss expectations around Schoolies and explain that it’s completely normal that they may feel emotional highs and lows, and that it’s okay to not feel okay. Remind them to communicate with the people around them, and that there is always help available.
7. If your teen is taking any form of prescription medication:
   • ensure they visit their GP to discuss the effects of mixing their medication with drugs and alcohol
   • make sure they let their friends know about the type of medication
   • make sure they’re friends know who they should contact in the event of an emergency
   • get them to set reminders in their phone to take their medication
8. Suggest your teen opens up to their friends about any existing mental health issues and how they’re feeling leading up to Schoolies—their friends may also be feeling similar.
9. Get your teen to connect with a trusted adult—whether it be an aunty, family friend, teacher or parent. Touch base with them before Schoolies to let them know they’re their chosen person to contact during Schoolies if they need someone to talk to.
10. Make sure your teen knows that they can call at any time of the day if they’re in trouble and that you’ll be there to help them.