Matric rage trying time for parents
FOR the parents of the matric class of 2016, relax, it is natural to celebrate but make sure you ask for daily updates.
As thousands of matriculants get ready for their post-exam festivities, parents feeling anxious are called upon to speak to their children before they leave for what is the after-party and grand finale of their school careers.
Experts advise parents to not only embrace their anxiety but to also engage with their children.
Many Eastern Cape matrics will make their way to Plettenberg Bay, while those in Gauteng will go to KwaZulu-Natal for the annual Rage Festival from tomorrow.
The Rage Festival lineup has more than 100 South African and international artists and DJs.
Izabella Gates, author and managing director of Life Talk, said while the celebration could be positive, for some it was often the beginning of bad choices.
“It’s good to have some sort of celebration, it’s almost a right of passage and it can be very positive,” she said. “However, the re- ality is, a lot of this celebratory time goes the wrong way.”
Psychologist Lori Eddy said there were no hard rules on how to deal with this transition, but that it was natural.
Both Eddy and Gates suggested that parents should request regular updates from their children either through a text message or phone call. “It is natural for teenagers to want to celebrate. All parents can do is trust the values they’ve instilled in their children,” Eddy said.
“Parents should allow their kids some freedom, but also lay some limits and boundaries.”
In the likely event that the good times get too good, a nonprofit Christian group of 164 university students and volunteers called the Red Frogs, will be at Rage Festival to provide teens with water and safe walks home.
Rage attendance has been increasing 10% year on year and between 16 000 and 19 000 partygoers will converge on the KwaZulu-Natal coast. – Additional Reporting by Taschica Pillay
It’s almost a right of passage and it can be very positive