(Provided photo)

With the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival here, it has been standing room only with parents’ questions about when they can send their teens or older children to a summer concert — and what safety precautions should be reinforced if they do.

Let me see if I can take the educational stage about this topic.

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Do your homework in advance

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Is there an age restriction to even attend the proposed concert and another age where adult supervision is a requirement for admission?

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What is the vibe?

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While older children and even pre-teens need you to be with them at any public event so they do not get into unsafe situations, teenagers may not want you to be around.

If you are still uncomfortable sending them to an event where you think your teen may be at risk for exposure to risk-taking behaviors like drugs or alcohol, insist you go with them, but buy your ticket a few rows away from your teen and their friends so you’re there if they need you but you are not sitting right next to them.

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Important guidelines

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¯ If you feel your older child or teen is old enough to go alone without supervision, insist a friend go with them — preferably one where you not only know the friend but the friend’s family as well, so the ground rules for going without supervision are the same for all in the group.

¯ Always accompany any child or pre-teen to a restroom or refreshment stall.

¯ Remind them never to accept food or drink from a stranger.

¯ Tell them the importance of staying safe and sticking together.

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Some best practices

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¯ Another good idea is to have knowledge of the layout of the concert area. This makes it easy to identify a meeting place in advance for people to find each other if they get separated.

¯ They should also look for where the emergency exits are and where security is posted if help is needed.

¯ If you do not attend with your children, have them call you at intermission, when the concert is over and when they are in the car or public transportation vehicle leaving the event to give you an estimate of when they will be home.

¯ Ear plugs are also essential for large concerts given that the biggest risk can be noise pollution and the hearing damage that can occur if ears are not protected from prolonged loud noise.

Hopefully, tips like these will allow you to applaud the fact that you are now better prepared for your children to be safe when they attend a concert or public event this summer.

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Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. You can also catch “First with Kids” weekly on WOKO 98.9FM and NBC5.