Walking the Tightrope: Gap
As Eldest Daughter makes plans for a Gap Year, mum Sally Codman is dreaming of also taking time out to travel and see the world.
I blame the Partying Princes, those royal ravers William and Harry, for stirring up anarchy and arguments amongst families the length and breadth of the land.
Now you may well ask what on earth am I on about this week? Am I objecting to Harry's clubbing habits or his fondness for inappropriate hand signals when cornered by tabloid paparazzi? And what on earth can I have against the wonderful William, whose only fault appears to be an ability to attract a different girl every day?
Well, as far as I'm concerned, the Playful Princes can party 'till they drop and tabloid paparazzi deserve a lot worse than explicit gestures from their victims. No, what I really object to is the role the Princes have played in making 'The Gap Year' fashionable.
Until William's wanderings in Southern Chile and Harry's well-publicised jaunts in Australia and Lesotho, the vast majority of students were happy to get on with being students. Parents were happy to see them moving towards financial and emotional independence as quickly as possible.
However, the well-documented wanderings of the footloose and fancy-free Princes put the Gap Year idea centre stage for every teenager with an ounce of imagination and a pinch of wanderlust. Which was absolutely fine when it was other peoples' teenagers who wanted to go off to Mongolia to discover their 'inner selves', or work their way around the world before blowing the dust off their books and settling back at their desks.
Oh yes, when it's other peoples' young people who are hoisting their overstuffed backpacks high and planning their escapes from the English winter and dull routine that's absolutely fine, good luck to them.
They should be applauded for their adventurous spirits and encouraged to seize the day before it seizes them and drags them into the tedium of the nine-to-five (or should that be eight-til-late?) needed to meet the mortgage payments, bills and family commitments.
But when it's your very own flesh and blood planning to abandon the nest (and their much-needed babysitting and taxiing duties) then that's a different kettle of fish altogether.
When Eldest Daughter and her friends started talking about taking a Gap Year I wasn't too concerned, after all 'ya gotta have a dream' as they say. Then some of E.D.'s friends actually waved goodbye and set off on their Big Adventures. Next we got phone calls from all over the globe at strange times and I got a bit more worried, after all, if they could do it what was there to stop E.D?
A couple of years ago there was an easy answer to that one - hard cash. Then the Government had a re-think on Uni tuition fees (again) and decided not to increase fees for students planning a Gap year in 2005.
Next she secured a job, and despite a past history as a pocket-money-spendthrift, started to make regular savings and serious plans. Mr C and I started to suspect that a Gap Year adventure was something E.D. was serious about.
Turns out we were right, our would-be globetrotter now has a firm offer of a bed, board and pocket money placement teaching at a school in South Africa and a second job to help pay for a tour of the country before she returns home.
As proud parents we're left trying not to read the 'backpacker shot' stories which seem to appear frequently in the national press lately. Instead we're trying to help her make plans, persuade her to go on a 'safe travelling' course and get the most out of what could be one of the most exciting experiences of her life.
I have to admit to also being a bit envious. I couldn't resist a quick trawl around the Net to see what opportunities there may be for a more mature would-be Gapper.
I was heartened to read that there are plenty of opportunities for would be SKIers (those of us planning to Spend the Kids Inheritance, assuming of course there's anything left to spend when they're all grown up).
You could work on an organic farm in New Zealand, teach English to Muscovites, or work as a journalist on an English-language newspaper in Bangalore. Sounds good to me. Now all Mr C and I have to do is stay fit and healthy for the next ten years so we can still cope with all that excitement and travelling!
