At my son’s year 12 graduation dinner back in 2017, I was seated with him, my ex-husband and a group of parents I’d never met. It was a long, awkward evening of making polite conversation, avoiding eye contact with my ex, and glancing repeatedly at my watch wishing both hands would accelerate. I recalled that evening when I read of the new rules for Sydney’s Catholic archdiocese , banning students from bringing dates to their year 12 formals and – more alarmingly – banning alcohol for parents at all school functions.
These include graduation dinners, year 12 formals and end-of-school celebrations for year 6. An A+ in 3-unit sobriety. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto I’m not a big drinker but if there was ever a need for alcohol it’s at year 12 graduation dinners, particularly for us divorced parents who want to be there for the kids we made together but would rather see when apart.
There was wine on the table at my son’s graduation, and that wine helped me get through the night. I don’t believe in a ban on alcohol for parents, at graduation dinners, or at formals, although I’m not sure why parents would even be at a formal in the first place. Formals are celebrations for the kids, who get to dress up and party after the horrors of the HSC (a torment I still dream about, nearly 40 years later).
We parents are rightly invited to the “pre’s” – a gathering generally at the home of one of the braver parents, in which we can check out the kids, marvel at.