The “gap year” is that time right after high school graduation when a teenager decides it is a good idea to wait to go to college in favor of racking up some life experience. However, for parents, the gap year is more like a torturous time when all hopes of seeing their children pursuing an education (and moving out of the family home) sink down the drain. So, how do practical parents talk some schooling sense into their seize-the-day children? Here are some tips for how to encourage your child to skip the gap year:
Provide incentives. This one could also be referred to as bribing. Offer an incentive (based on your personal means, of course) for staying in school. For example, you may offer free room and board (like, what else is new?), an automobile, or a vacation if your child sticks it out.
Get backup. If you are having a hard time convincing your child of the value of staying in school, find reliable sources who can illustrate the pitfalls of taking that time off. For example, you might have a sister who got sidetracked during the gap year and never made it back to school, or an uncle who spent his gap year getting into debt. Basically, anyone who took time off after school and had negative results would be a great support for your argument to skip the gap year.
Put things into perspective. If you can give your child a feeling of the bigger picture, then you may be successful at persuading against the gap year. First, explain how easy it is for one gap year to turn into two, or five, or a lifetime . . . then explain that it’s a much better idea to just get the hard work over with in order to reap the benefits later.
Good, old-fashioned threats. Sure, you don’t want to do the hard thing, but that just might be what it takes. If you really want to get tough on the matter, you can threaten your child to withdraw all support. That might be enough to force a reconsideration of the whole gap year idea.
It’s only natural for teenagers to want to take a gap year after high school. After all, school can be tough . . . and we’re subjected to over twelve years of it before we’re asked to return for at least four more. Keep the sensitive nature of the subject in mind, remember that you are talking to a teenager when you approach the gap year issue, and arm yourself with these tips. Good luck.
About the Author: Flora Beamon is a mother of three – one in college, one who plans on taking a gap year, and who isn’t even in high school yet. She loves writing about education, finding grants for college, and travel.
