1 Don’t smother them, the more you push the less they will want to do it. Do some
research, present them with it and let them do the rest.
2 If they want to pay for the trip themselves...great! But why not suggest paying for their
insurance,
travel jabs and an
international sim card as a present to get them started. These bits are the essential and the bit you don’t want them to skimp on. You could also pay for them to do a
gap safety course too, this is a good way for them to meet other travellers and learn how to look after themselves whilst away.
3 Make sure you take a copy of all their important documents and a rough itinerary left at home, not to check up on them of course, but should they lose a copy and need a spare you can send one over or even better if they leave you scanned or electronic copies you can email them across. There are
several companies that will store these documents for you. If they are happy for you to do so you could consider having access to their email accounts and joint power for their bank accounts, these things can be useful should you need to transfer money or check balances.
4 If nothing else register their details with a locate or safety hotline scheme. You should always do this with the
FCO LOCATE scheme but there are others who do a similar but more specific job like
Safety24 - if possible do both.
If things go wrong they are trained to deal with emergencies and could be a big help.
5 Find the best method of
communication for them and use it, even if it means you signing up to a facebook account! The chances of you being kept in the loop are much more likely if the methods are more familiar to them.
For further advice on how to help advice and ensure a safe and well structured gap year have a look at the
'Parents and Advisers' section of the Year Out Group website.
A special plea....if you are a parent looking at this then you are one of the aware ones. If you have found it useful, the chances are that someone else will too - they just don’t know about it yet! Help us make others more aware and to run schools programmes taking this information direct to students.
