Mind the gap.....

"Mum, Dad, I think I'll take a gap year"........

Words that are heard by parents across the world...although it appears very popular in the UK and the USA.

I'd like a year off before I start my University life.........I want to find myself,

Now, in my day there was no such thing as a gap year. Am I just envious? No! 

I have just watched a video where there two different attitudes to post 16 life. One which says two years of A-level, 3 years of  university, first job, marriage etc.....another talks about all the different options including gap years.

For me, a gap year sounds like getting your pocket money before you clean your bedroom.

We don't all start a new job and say that we'll take our holidays straight away.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with wanting to teach English to kids in India, it is an admirable thing to do as your parents spend their time worried about all the things that could happen as you have never been away from home before and didn't enjoy that camping weekend with the scouts.

Surely there if you wish to do good, there are loads of things that you could do with your own community to make things better without going half way round the world.

Whilst I understand that the financial costs of going to university and paying off student loans may take a shine off the start of your first job, surely spending your free time earning money would be a better thing to do to get you back on sound financial footing sooner rather than later.

It does sound romantic and is full of good intentions, but is it a way of avoiding the responsibility that others are willing to take on?

Gap years also seem to be spent in far flung, warm and exotic locations......places that many people never go to or go back to.

Surely we should be teaching our children the importance of responsibility and whilst a gap year may provide "life changing" experiences, more often they don't.