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Tell your teenager the truth about prom night.An honest conversation &#8211; one in which you talk with, not down to, him or her &#8211; might start with words such as &#8220;I&#8217;m so glad to have watched you become a young adult, so happy you&#8217;ll be with your friends at a formal dance, and I&#8217;m scared to death you might drop your guard and do something dumb.&#8221;Explain that your fear isn&#8217;t grounded in distrust, but rather statistics, psychology and science.Go over these grim details: &#8220;Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for teens,&#8221; according to information widely shared by Students Against Destructive Decisions. &#8220;Approximately 36 percent of traffic deaths of 15- to 20-year-olds are alcohol-related.&#8221;You&#8217;ve long known that April, May and June &#8211; when proms and graduations are celebrated across Northeastern Pennsylvania &#8211; pose a particular risk; it&#8217;s one of the reasons April is designated Alcohol Awareness Month. It&#8217;s the span of deadly days when about a third of each year&#8217;s alcohol-related traffic fatalities involving teens occur, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It&#8217;s why certain area schools display on their lawns those wrecked vehicles from fun nights gone tragically wrong, why groups tout &#8220;sobriety contracts,&#8221; and why some school administrators resort on prom night to posting by the door security guards and breathalyzers.It&#8217;s why you needed to have this conversation.Tell your teen that you know a thing or two about peer pressure; you&#8217;ve felt it, maybe even at times caved to it. Urge him or her to have a plan if approached by a &#8220;friend&#8221; encouraging this &#8220;special night&#8221; to include drug use, alcohol consumption or sex.&#8220;Don&#8217;t be caught off guard and say &#8216;yes&#8217; to something you&#8217;ll regret,&#8221; advises the Safe Sober Prom Night Program, at www.safesober.com. &#8220;Be ready to say &#8216;No&#8217; or walk away. Humor often works in these situations and once they realize you&#8217;re not going to join them, they&#8217;ll leave you alone.&#8221;Remind your teenager that research indicates a young person&#8217;s brain &#8211; at least, the part that inhibits risky behavior &#8211; won&#8217;t be fully developed until age 25.Emphasize the potential consequences when inexperienced drivers and exuberance, perhaps illegally fueled by alcohol, mix.Encourage your teen to, if possible, avoid driving on prom night. To wear a seat belt. To never text while driving. And to not under any circumstance climb into a vehicle with someone who&#8217;s been drinking.Listen to what your teen has to say, too.Later, before he or she &#8211; dressed to the nines &#8211; heads out the door for the milestone dance, take those photos and say what&#8217;s in your heart: &#8220;Have fun. I love you.&#8220;See you when you get home.&#8221;

Our Opinion: Warn teens about consequences of risky behavior on prom night