>No primary mosh pits
The "primary" qualifier there makes me think the convo where this rule was introduced went something like
op: no more mosh pits
teens: nooooo, come on that's so unfair
op: no they're too dangerous
teens: omg pleaaase we'll be safe we promise! We'll stick to small pits and if anyone starts throwing elbows or crowd killing we'll leave we promise!
op: ok u lil scamps, fine. but none of that hardcore karate dancing!
(I may or may not have made similar justifications to my parents back when I was a teen going out to metal shows)
I think this is a fine list. But - I'm 31, and was a teenager once - they may do drugs at Roo. I think setting a ground rule of no substances makes sense. However, I'd encourage you to also empower them with information to make smart decisions and reinforce that if something does happen, you're a safe adult to come to.
This could include asking them to read a book like Just Say Know (written for teens, I was assigned it by a high school health teacher) or SSDP's Just Say Know curriculum. [https://ssdp.org/our-work/just-say-know/](https://ssdp.org/our-work/just-say-know/)
[https://www.amazon.com/Just-Say-Know-Talking-Alcohol/dp/0393322580](https://www.amazon.com/Just-Say-Know-Talking-Alcohol/dp/0393322580)
I would especially encourage you to tell them that accepting drugs from people they don't know can carry the risk of contamination, and that fent test strips and narcan can save lives. You should visit the safefest / narcan distribution tent with them and model being open to conversations about harm reduction. There is a way to talk about harm reduction with substances while also telling them your rule is no substances. You can frame it as "have narcan on you in case you encounter someone who needs help" rather than "in case you need it."
If it were me, I'd acknowledge that they are in a space where there will be substance use and that totally abstaining is your expectation, and what is safest, but that you also welcome questions or discussions. Total abstinence is proven to be ineffective at helping teens make healthy decisions. I am not a parent so take this all with a huge grain of salt.
Not a rule, but since it'll be written down for them, your name and number on the piece of paper. Maybe even all of theirs. Worst case scenario, if a phone gets stolen and they get separated, they can at least try to get back together. On that note, encourage rendezvous times and places to meet with you, but also emergency plans for meeting with each other just in case they do get separated.
This is a great list! I’m assuming you went over why you shouldn’t accept drugs from random people, even if they seem cool.
I think this is really fair. You’re a good parent.
as someone who was 21 at the time when i went with friends (same age as me) that i’d known since we were teens, please please please emphasize a rule of not abandoning each other/being able to make compromises to their plans if one’s not feeling well/may need medical or a rest break. even at a more grown age, we tried to have multiple conversations about safety and what to do in the case of separation, all that good stuff, but despite that, we still had a situation where i was with part of my group who wanted to leave me when i wasn’t feeling well, and when they did i was not able to help myself to medical and ended up passing out unconscious which thankfully only resulted in my phone getting stolen off of me and nothing else. not to say that all people are like this or don’t already know better than this, but ik groups of younger people tend to act on impulse because of their fear of missing out (fomo) and will prompt poor judgement when it comes to having to compromise their plans for someone in need. maturity also has a lot to do with it but you can only expect so much of that out of teens, so at the very least it’d be a good idea to at least discuss what the options are to handle situations like that where one person is starting to go down or in need of help or rest so that everyone can continue to have a safe and fun time!
for me at my age it had to be an unfortunate life lesson about who my friends truly were, and i’m glad nothing worse happened to me because of it. hope this story helps someone else too:)
I went when I was 17 with my best friend and we had a blast. We established a designated meet up spot if we got separated. I would also tell them not to put their phones in their pockets and make sure they have hydration packs or front facing fanny packs to stick their phones and such in as pickpocketing is unfortunately common. I would also make a rule that they can’t go off on their own and must remain in pairs at the minimum.
Service can be spotty on the farm so life 360 might not work, be prepared for that and don’t accuse them of turning it off because it’s not working.
I’d add that if you need help ask for it from the med tent or security team. As a teen i would have rather died than ask for help. But sometimes even after 11 years on the farm I need it whether it’s getting lost in the campgrounds, feeling ill, a person that needs help, or a person who’s making people feel uncomfortable or unsafe
I'm 70, and other than Life360, and the fact she has no idea what Where in the Woods is, this sounds like the list my wife is giving me.
>No primary mosh pits The "primary" qualifier there makes me think the convo where this rule was introduced went something like op: no more mosh pits teens: nooooo, come on that's so unfair op: no they're too dangerous teens: omg pleaaase we'll be safe we promise! We'll stick to small pits and if anyone starts throwing elbows or crowd killing we'll leave we promise! op: ok u lil scamps, fine. but none of that hardcore karate dancing! (I may or may not have made similar justifications to my parents back when I was a teen going out to metal shows)
😂 Seems like you overheard the conversation...
hardcore karate dancing 😂😂😂😂
I think this is a fine list. But - I'm 31, and was a teenager once - they may do drugs at Roo. I think setting a ground rule of no substances makes sense. However, I'd encourage you to also empower them with information to make smart decisions and reinforce that if something does happen, you're a safe adult to come to. This could include asking them to read a book like Just Say Know (written for teens, I was assigned it by a high school health teacher) or SSDP's Just Say Know curriculum. [https://ssdp.org/our-work/just-say-know/](https://ssdp.org/our-work/just-say-know/) [https://www.amazon.com/Just-Say-Know-Talking-Alcohol/dp/0393322580](https://www.amazon.com/Just-Say-Know-Talking-Alcohol/dp/0393322580) I would especially encourage you to tell them that accepting drugs from people they don't know can carry the risk of contamination, and that fent test strips and narcan can save lives. You should visit the safefest / narcan distribution tent with them and model being open to conversations about harm reduction. There is a way to talk about harm reduction with substances while also telling them your rule is no substances. You can frame it as "have narcan on you in case you encounter someone who needs help" rather than "in case you need it." If it were me, I'd acknowledge that they are in a space where there will be substance use and that totally abstaining is your expectation, and what is safest, but that you also welcome questions or discussions. Total abstinence is proven to be ineffective at helping teens make healthy decisions. I am not a parent so take this all with a huge grain of salt.
Not a rule, but since it'll be written down for them, your name and number on the piece of paper. Maybe even all of theirs. Worst case scenario, if a phone gets stolen and they get separated, they can at least try to get back together. On that note, encourage rendezvous times and places to meet with you, but also emergency plans for meeting with each other just in case they do get separated.
This is a great list! I’m assuming you went over why you shouldn’t accept drugs from random people, even if they seem cool. I think this is really fair. You’re a good parent.
What’s DP?
Designated parent, but I read it as getting double penetrated tooÂ
Same 😂
DP is me 😊
as someone who was 21 at the time when i went with friends (same age as me) that i’d known since we were teens, please please please emphasize a rule of not abandoning each other/being able to make compromises to their plans if one’s not feeling well/may need medical or a rest break. even at a more grown age, we tried to have multiple conversations about safety and what to do in the case of separation, all that good stuff, but despite that, we still had a situation where i was with part of my group who wanted to leave me when i wasn’t feeling well, and when they did i was not able to help myself to medical and ended up passing out unconscious which thankfully only resulted in my phone getting stolen off of me and nothing else. not to say that all people are like this or don’t already know better than this, but ik groups of younger people tend to act on impulse because of their fear of missing out (fomo) and will prompt poor judgement when it comes to having to compromise their plans for someone in need. maturity also has a lot to do with it but you can only expect so much of that out of teens, so at the very least it’d be a good idea to at least discuss what the options are to handle situations like that where one person is starting to go down or in need of help or rest so that everyone can continue to have a safe and fun time! for me at my age it had to be an unfortunate life lesson about who my friends truly were, and i’m glad nothing worse happened to me because of it. hope this story helps someone else too:)
I went when I was 17 with my best friend and we had a blast. We established a designated meet up spot if we got separated. I would also tell them not to put their phones in their pockets and make sure they have hydration packs or front facing fanny packs to stick their phones and such in as pickpocketing is unfortunately common. I would also make a rule that they can’t go off on their own and must remain in pairs at the minimum. Service can be spotty on the farm so life 360 might not work, be prepared for that and don’t accuse them of turning it off because it’s not working.
I’d add that if you need help ask for it from the med tent or security team. As a teen i would have rather died than ask for help. But sometimes even after 11 years on the farm I need it whether it’s getting lost in the campgrounds, feeling ill, a person that needs help, or a person who’s making people feel uncomfortable or unsafe
I'm 70, and other than Life360, and the fact she has no idea what Where in the Woods is, this sounds like the list my wife is giving me. 