Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We no longer live in the DC area, and prom is fairly low-key here in a smaller metro area. No promposals, no limos, suits are the norm (although some do tuxes), prom cost is $35. Many kids go to dinner beforehand. Lot of kids go in groups. I love that it is not some hyped-up, over-priced event that you need a date for.

Prom is not just a school dance. It's a reward for kids who have done what they're supposed to do in high school, and have contributed to student life as an athlete or maybe a performer or musician or in student government. It means securing a date, dressing up, conversing with the date's parents, attending a formal dinner with peers while paying attention to your date, and attending a ball where you and your date form a unit. Then you get home safely.

It's an opportunity for socializing with the other prominent people in your peer community. Hence the name "prom". Kids need to be able to do if they want to succeed as adults. The worst trend post-Covid has been the prevalence of kids going stag. They're not striving to figure out who their match is on the scale, how to figure out the best person who will go out with them. Instead they're just giving up, with the parents' and school's approval. These "stag" kids water down the experience for the kids who regularly party with each other but would like to extend their status to a formal social event for the upper levels of their (high school) community.

This is a really creepy post.

I went to prom twice in high school. I barely remember either of them, and I can't remember my junior prom date's last name. The events made no impression in my life.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I posted earlier on this thread that my HS senior DS wasn't going to the prom. Well, now he is. He acted like he didn't care, but I can tell now that he's excited. He's not a kid who cares about appearances or going along with the crowd, but even for him, senior prom was something he didn't want to miss out on.

Prom really tells us who socialized their kids to be ready for college and the real world. Kids who played HS sports have a huge advantage because they have a group of built-in popular friends, they know how to fit in and playing the sport gets them in shape and makes them hot and attractive. They aren't so individualistic and me me me my truth. They're like, let me get a hot date and make people jealous. Win!

Wow, you are legitimately pathetic. Truly. I’m embarrassed for you.

OMG, I agree, that was the most pathetic response. I have twins. My son has played a Varsity sport since his freshman year, and is very good at it. I know I'm his mom, but he is a very good-looking boy. He is also painfully shy. He has a very small group of friends, but is nice to everyone he meets. My daughter is also very athletic, but that is were the similarities end. She is super popular and extremely outgoing. They are juniors. My son hasn't attended a single school dance since he started high school. He does not want anything to do with dances. My daughter hasn't missed a single dance. She goes with a huge group of friends and their "dates" are guy friends. Every dance is a whole planned ordeal. The girls gather at someone's house, they do their makeup, hair, nails. Then they do a pre-dance dinner at some restaurant, then they go to the dance for a bit and then to an after-party at a friend's house, and finally a sleepover. Every, single, dance.

It is not about socializing your kid, it is about understanding that these type of activities are ok for some and not for other and supporting your kids' choices.