To worry about DD1s planned gap year?

[GraduallyGoingInsane]

DD1 has always been adamant that she would take a gap year after she finished school. DH and I are happy for this to happen, both of us took years out (and it was far more unusual in our day, believe me!) She is young for her year so we hope she'll gain a bit more independence this way too.

She has done a reasonable amount of research and planning, and has got a decent plan in shape. I'm proud she has been so proactive, but I'm concerned she hasn't filled the year.

She proposes to do a ski season which will fill December - May. She then hopes to do summer camp in America from June - September, and will start uni then.

She will come on holiday with us in July after finishing school, then get her results (fingers crossed!!) and is planning a trip to Cornwall with pals for late August/September.

This leaves September, October and November empty, and I'm worried. All her friends are planning to go straight to uni, so will disappear in September/October and I am concerned she will feel lost and lonely.

DD1 is a very sociable, active girl, always has been. Her hobbies will largely come to an end - she does associate ballet classes but it wouldn't be fair to take someone's year long spot for a couple of months, and she competes at allstar cheer/tumble, but again wouldn't be able to take a place on the team knowing she will leave. That leaves her regular ballet classes and tumbling to keep her busy.

I have asked for a plan, and she proposes to get a job. She's already got some gymnastics coaching work but that will only fill after school hours. She is contemplating doing her lifeguard exams (with the added bonus that this will make her far more employable for summer camps).

Has anyone else's DC done a gap year with nothing 'up front' and watched friends go away? How was it? Any tips?

I would wait.My dd has an August birthday and took a Gap Year after university. WE bought an open round the world plane ticket as a 21st present for her.She went to Australia, Thailand and Hong Kong working and exploring.I wouldn't have wanted her to go at just turned 18 though.

The cost of Camp america includes flights. There are no expenses while working as accomodation and food are included. There is a payment at the end of $800 upwards depending on skills. Having nplq will increase the amount as well as having experience with SN.

There no way she'll earn enough on her ski instructor thing to pay back the costs. The course costs for these gap yeah things are £5-7k depending where you do it.

She'll be bottom of the pile for picking up any teaching work and is realistically only going to get between 4 and 8 weeks paid instructing work. You're dreaming if you think she'll make back what you spent.

I'm not having a go as I think it will be a fantastic thing for her to do, and I think it's nice when parents help out when they can. But just don't placate mums net by saying she'll break even. No way!

If she is serious about instructing she could get BASI level one knocked out in the snowdome and pick up teaching work there during Sep, Oct and Nov. Assuming her skiing is already pretty decent.

Op forgot to say ds is 18 in 6th form.

Maybe she could do a proper first aid qualification that is more detailed than the one she would do on a lifeguard course, but that would aid it.

Volunteering would be beneficial, especially if it is in some way related to language. Would she be interested in something like this

Also OP, ignore the jealous posters, you don't have to answer to anyone else about what you provide for your daughter.

If she wants to do languages at university she should spend at least three months in total immersion in each of her languages.

if she is going to do languages could she volunteer/work at a language school if there is one near you ours is always looking for people to help with English and work in their creche I really do think she needs to get a job I could never afford to fund any gap years though so it is all a bit Alien to me the thought of children going off on gap years, dd2 wants to not go to college/uni when she leaves school she will be 17 she wants to work and save first

This is almost identical to the gap year I did many years ago! I had a great time on both the ski season and in America and have fond memories of the year.

I worked for three months before starting the ski season to help finance the rest of the year (boring job but worth it for the cash!) and I also did some work experience related to the course I'd be doing after the gap year.

A lifeguard qualification is definitely a very useful skill to get and would give her more choice on what she does at the American summer camps too!

VivaLeBeaver, the instructing will be in Switzerland, we have already sorted the course and know they accept 18 year olds and will find work for them.

HarrietSchulenberg, she has applied to uni this year but deferred so grades providing, she will not need to worry about that in her gap year.

Specialsubject, we expect her to bring back some earnings from America but not necessarily the ski season. She will however have to fund her life out there - food, drinking, any bills etc. If she drinks her wages she'll go hungry!

Bruffin thanks! That's helpful, a friend of ours runs a sports club for SN children which may be an idea for some voluntary work. DD has heaps of experience with kids and I'm sure they would welcome an extra pair of hands.

I also agree that you're being extremely naive if you think she'll pay anything back to you from the ski season. These things cost a fortune and she won't actually be able to do much teaching at 18. She won't be experienced enough compared to the older girls who go after university instead.

Oh, meant to add I was a chalet rep not a ski instructor so although it was a minimal wage had ski pass, ski hire accommodation and some food included as well as any tips from the guests so I was probably earning a bit more than your DD would be? Maybe she could look into getting some bar work or other part-time job while out at the ski resort?

You will need to look up camp america wages. It was a couple of years since my dn did it.

dds friend did camp america the wages are not what her and her parents paid out to go to it IYSWIM the girl was working to save and her parents paid some as well

PGL? They usually hire people for the summer.

To those saying about money, these are jobs that you get paid for, pittance, but you do get paid.

Has she looked into Camp America? She has to make a video and all sorts for that, and apply early. My ex applied in 2012 for their July 2013 season.

Hi OP, I did a gap year a few years ago and this has reminded me of my experience! It was a fantastic year and definitely worth doing particularly as I was also young for my year. I think it really helped having that extra year of maturity when I went to uni.

On mine I worked for 7 months right after finishing school, at times it was a bit of a slog particularly in my second job working for a pensions firm where I spent two weeks de-stapling files. And I understand your concerns about when her friends go to uni etc. in September, it wasn't great and often at that age you don't consider that part of the year as it is overlooked by the good bits. It was very lonely at times especially when your friends are telling you how much fun they're having at uni however completely worth it for the other half of the year.

I don't have experience of a ski season but have friends who came back with nothing, it is very difficult to earn profit but they were mostly able to fund themselves. However, I know in some cases there was also quite a lot of parental support and it can be a bit of a piss up.

With regards to the Summer camp in America I did this, it was a great experience really good fun but very hard work, definitely not a holiday. Also she is very unlikely to come back with any money. Being an international you get paid very little (about £800-1000) and you have to pay for flights, insurance and an agency to sponsor you. Anything spare I spent on my days off (5 days in 8 weeks) we went to Niagara Falls etc. so had to pay for transport. To apply for camp I suggest she starts looking into it now, I know it's very early but she is more likely to get the type of camp/location she wants if she is organised. Also at some point in 2015 I think April/May she needs to go to the American Embassy for a Visa so will need to be in the UK to organise that, agency will sort this out for you.

If she wants other ideas I did Raleigh International in Costa Rica and Nicaragua a really incredible experience and not just travelling.

Feel free to PM me if you want any other details.

Thonk it cost dn £600 to camp america which included flights.She got paid arouns $900 at the end. She only needed pocket money as food and accomodation were paid for and was in the middle of a forest in pennsylvania. She did have up to two weeks at the end to travel around.

I'd suggest working to pay for the rest of the year. Temping agencies would be good as she's got limited time to fill. Although lifeguarding pays more than minimum wage, and then she would get more money from Camp in the USA.

Ski season (Alps anyway) is Sept-May - at least it was when I worked it - so that solves your problem

I think that one of the most valuable things I did in my gap year was to get a normal shop job. Not for my CV but just for the experience of getting a weekly wage and being bottom of the heap. It really focused my mind on what I wanted to do with my life and has made me appreciative of shop assistants and cashiers ever since.

Your dd's year out sounds like lots of fun with plenty of variety. I think that she will have a great time, and that her friends may well envy her as much as she misses them. Also in general I think that gap years are a very good idea, both for the break from education and as a time to stretch and grow.

For the gap I'd suggest working or voluntary work as it sounds like your dd is used to being very busy. Personally I enjoyed messing around doing nothing for a bit of my year but my parents certainly didn't. So then I went to India for a couple of months which must have scared them a bit as the only communication they got was a postcard telling them that I'd fallen out with my friends and decided to travel on my own.

Has she looked into the Camp America thing? Is she eligible even though she isn't a student? She will need to be able to get a student visa and a sponsor to do it. My DD did Work America through BUNAC but she was 20 and already at uni.

2 of my children had a gap year, both funded by themselves.
One did a lifeguard qualification and went to Camp America and continued to go for the next few years. One went to South Africa, worked in an orphanage for 6 months to fund her travelling for the next 6 months. She ended up having her appendix out in Kenya which was a pretty scary time for all of us.

My ds did the life-guarding qualification after GCSEs and worked for the next 3-4 years (when he was home) at the local pool.

The life-guards were used as cleaners and general dogsbodies (ie getting out trampoline, cleaning running track) as well as actual guards for the pool.

It was a very 'young' environment - the managers were only about 23, so there was a lot of laughter, skiving and general merriment. The choice of late shifts also suited ds because he's a lazy git a night owl.

It was an excellent way to learn first aid (a little more than the basics) and how to use spinal boards and defibrillators. They had to attend training once a month - swimming/saving and first aid.

The only reservation I had was the massive responsibility it put on young kids (especially if they'd returned from a particularly good night out 12 hours before their shift) and recent newspaper reports confirmed that my fears weren't totally unjustified.

However, saying that, ds had lots of fun, met lots of people and earnt a fair amount of money.

BTW does she know she can't drink in America at 18, in most states anyway.

make the 'no further funding' thing very clear, because I've seen plenty of reps who actually do run out of money and would have starved if bank of mum and dad didn't step in. As they always did.

I don't understand gap years frankly.

Unless they are taken to gain experience in the field you wish to study.

I know that some quite demanding and competitive courses dont quite agree with the view that a gap year is a good thing.

I think gap years can be quite disruptive and unravel the previous good (but still fragile) life habits of teenagers. I say that based on my experience of putting up gap year students in Paris over many years.