Club nights and parental frights

Discipline and common sense key to safe, coming-of-age parties

MY SON is now of legal clubbing age after celebrating his 21st birthday this year. For every night that he is out dancing with his friends, sleep does not come easy for his mother.

Who can blame her? Just search “entertainment outlet” in online news stories and you can see why.

Raids, fights, drugs and vice are the top headlines that are invariably linked to nightclubs.

Fortunately, my son’s pockets are not as well endowed as he would like them to be. So, his clubbing activities are few and far between.

But he is a sociable character and I am guessing that it will not be long before he and his friends will be going for another night out.

I was told that there is an online marketing platform which announces where the upcoming parties and the town’s top deejays are at.

One venue that has been rated for having the best light shows has been mentioned in his “must visit” list.

A friend has already asked why the mother is making such a fuss. Wasn’t she herself a night clubber as well during her younger years?

This friend argued that just because the mother has developed a tendency to feel sleepy by 9pm and has somehow found nightclubs “too noisy” of late does not mean she should stifle her son’s youthful spirit.

When I spoke to my son about the subject, he told me that vice, drugs and fights could happen anywhere, not only in nightclubs.

Staying away from all three simply boils down to discipline and common sense.

“Besides, there is such a thing as clubbing etiquette.

“Bumping people on the dance floor, not paying for drinks and inappropriate touching are major faux pas that will most likely see someone being removed by security,” he said.

My son prefers visiting establishments where the deejays play either club, house, hip hop, rhythm and blues or pop music.

“The place should also give off good vibes, in the sense that on first impression, the crowd does not appear to be in some sort of a trance.

“In a proper and decent establishment, the security is quite strict. They will pat you down at the entrance and check your identity card. If you happen to only have a photocopy and not the original, you will not be allowed in. There is also security walking around inside the club,” he assured me.

Clubbing is a great way to catch up with friends, dance to popular music to de-stress and just generally have a good time with like-minded people. — Filepic

So far, he has only witnessed one fight breaking out at a club’s entrance.

The troublemakers were immediately caught and separated by bouncers, then handed over to the police.

As for drinking and driving, my son has been warned that it is a big “no” for the serious consequences that will follow.

Anyway, he said the expenditure required of alcoholic beverages was beyond his “income bracket”, so there was no need to worry.

Since his clubbing jaunts are not supported by his mother, he saves up for it by putting, say, RM20 of his pocket money aside every month.

This is carried over until he has enough to pay for the cover charge, which is usually between RM30 and RM50.

My son assures me that his objective for clubbing is not to drink but to enjoy the music, have fun with friends and meet new people.

One website defines “clubbing” as the activity of going to nightclubs, especially to dance to popular music and socialise.

By this, I don’t mean gaining as many likes as one can on social media, but engaging in real-life interactions where people actually talk to each other, face to face.

The last part is something that I have always encouraged my son to do, especially in an age where people are constantly glued to their screens.

Anyway, since sleep does not come easy whenever my son is out clubbing, a friend has suggested that I play chauffeur and join him and his friends the next time they go out.

I am still waiting for the right moment to propose this idea to my 21-year-old.