We are entering the season when the grass turns greener and the hair of many parents turns grayer. In the next three months, parents of teenagers will be sweating out prom night, graduation night, the class picnic, and so on. When it comes to the behavior of high school students, even the best mothers and fathers have only the slightest control. They can take away car keys or cut off clothing allowances, but they can't force teenagers to make good decisions about health and safety. Though parents have little control, other influences are strong.
Teenagers respond to peer pressure.
They want to be regarded as grown-up and popular. They especially want to feel sophisticated on prom night. Inside, pictures mostly show girls on the beach in the morning light with their prom gowns in disarray. The boys have their shirts open and pants pushed low enough to display underwear. Virtually every picture shows heavy-lidded teenagers clinging to each other in rumpled clothes on the morning after.