Hosting a Party For Young People

Preparation is important when organising a successful party for young people. Plan ahead and involve your child by discussing expectations and the ground rules.

We’ve all heard the horror stories in the media of out of control parties, even with careful planning. It is understandable that you may feel overwhelmed about what might happen if you host a party for your child.

Firstly, it is important to recognise that the media usually only focus on parties that don’t go well, and that many parents successfully conduct parties with only happy memories of the event. Of course any party you host has the potential to go awry, and there are a number of things you can do at the planning stage to enable things to go as smoothly as possible, and to be ready for unexpected problems.

Examples of some of the things you can do include:

• An alcohol-free party is the safest option. Don’t supply or allow alcohol to be brought to the party (this can be written on the party invitation). If you do supply alcohol at the party, you may be committing an offence against the ACT’s secondary supply of alcohol laws (maximum penalty $3000). [1]
• Make the party ‘invitation only’.
• Negotiate ground rules with your child about what will and will not happen at the party.
• Make sure the party is well supervised by adults; you may need to ask some friends to help. Good adult supervision can significantly reduce the likelihood of people being harmed.
• Let the police and the neighbours know you are having a party.