When panicked parents ring days before a party, wanting my help, I assume they’re willing to follow my expert recommendations. This does not mean you can: Put your child in charge of an event. Pick and choose the recommendations you want (e.g. ditch my alcohol management plan and let kids come and go as they…
Life skills Most teens are keen to experience adult life and be treated with respect. This is a natural part of growing up, but it’s a two-way deal. For it to work, teenagers must give a bit; they can’t just take, take and take. We’re not talking sheep stations here. I’m just saying that with…
I have enormous respect for police. I used to be one. But it’s increasingly obvious they just don’t have the resources to cope with exploding demands on their services. Here’s the latest case in point. Road rage A Saturday night ‘after-party’ in Melbourne’s outer east proved very difficult. The party home had no front fence and was…
Ever keen to improve teen party safety, my team and I have been trying innovative solutions to the gatecrasher plague. And boy, are we onto a winner! Fixed cameras are proving to be a cheap, easy yet amazingly effective deterrent for unwanted guests. Just take a look … Holding the line Here we have a…
There are some things you just don’t want to spend money on. Insurance, dental work and red-light camera fines spring to mind. These expenses sure ain’t fun, but failing to cover them can cost you a whole lot more down the track. Unfortunately, these days, security for your party is another ‘unfun-but-necessary’ purchase. I know…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMe8OYi0c_4] Young. Strong. Spiteful. Vicious. Terrifying. When it comes to gatecrashers, I’ve seen it all. But now I’m witnessing a new level of violence – fuelled by a blind, searing hatred of everyone and everything. This disturbing shift is so pronounced, I’m calling these intruders ‘hatecrashers’. This word isn’t in any dictionary. But if…
As teen parties get bigger, riskier and more elaborate, host parents are finding there’s extra help at hand: other parents and responsible (i.e. mature, sober) adults. This is good news, as parents planning teen events need all the help they can get. They also need to realise some really important points. Key among these is…
As our communities struggle to cope with the rise of teen parties, we now have a popularity contest: 100 guests (or more) is the new way to be cool and hip! Yes, teen parties are getting bigger. I’m now regularly speaking to parents planning 150+ guest events for kids as young as 14! Yesterday I…
The mayhem caused by unplanned teen parties is alarming. With no experience of planning a successful teen event, parents are continually putting kids in harm’s way. As Managing Director of U-Nome Security and Founder of Safe Partying Australia, I’ve planned and worked at more than 700 teenage parties. Every weekend, I see first-hand exactly why…
Moon madness Last Saturday night kept me and my staff very busy. I’m not sure what the moon was doing, but every party we handled had issues. Problems that would’ve turned very ugly had security not been present Ironically, the alcohol-free events were the most difficult. This was because gatecrashers targeted both. You wouldn’t believe…