Letting go of your children and admitting that they’ve grown up is hard, but eventually, every parent has to do it. When they finally leave home, you’ll have to let go for good but there are big changes that come before that. One of the earliest milestones during your kid’s transition to adulthood is their first holiday without you. This is every parent’s worst nightmare, it’s worrying enough when they go out on their own around the neighborhood, let alone in another country. While you might want to keep them at home and not let them go, you have to release them into the world at some point. Telling them that they can’t go will cause a lot of tensions at home so it’s not a good idea. What you can do is make sure that they’re prepared. They might think that they don’t need you anymore but when it comes to organizing a holiday, they’ll soon realize that they need your advice if they’re going to avoid any travel mistakes. Before you send your kid’s off on holiday for the first time, make sure you’ve done all of these things.
The Things That They’ll Forget
When your teenager is planning their holiday, they’ll be incredibly thorough when it comes to mapping out the locations of the beach and the local bars, but beyond that, they’ll probably forget everything else. They’ll naturally ask for your help with booking flights and hotels but there’s a lot of small details that they will need reminding of. A major thing that they’re likely to forget about is travel insurance. That kind of thing won’t even cross their mind but if they go abroad without it and something bad happens, they’ll find themselves stranded and unable to get medical attention. In this scenario, it’ll be you that ends up paying the huge medical bills so it’s in your best interest to get travel insurance for them.
Baggage allowances are another tiny detail that they won’t consider. They’ll get the plane ticket and think that’s it, but these days, most tickets don’t include a suitcase. It needs to be bought for extra and if they forget then they’ll have a nasty surprise at the airport. You also need to check that they aren’t packing anything that will cause problems going through customs.
Sensible clothes aren’t going to be top of their list either. Even though they’re going to a hot country, they probably won’t entertain the idea that it could rain at some point. They’ll fill their case with shorts and t-shirts and nothing else, so maybe suggest that they pack a few extra bits in case the weather is bad.
How Often Should You Contact Them?
When they’re off on their own, they’ll be annoyed if you keep calling and texting them every five minutes. Not calling them at all isn’t really an option because you’ll be worrying constantly. You need to find a good balance between the two. It is vital that they call you when they arrive so you know that they are safe and there are no problems checking into the hotel. Beyond that, set maybe one or two days during the week for them to call you and check in. That way you’ll know that they’re safe but they won’t feel smothered.
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