Regardless of your child’s current age, you may already be thinking about some of the things they may want or need to have a fulfilling future. Within this can be the experience and memories that an outdoor adventure-fuelled holiday can bring. Whether this ends up being a summer camp, gap year, or even simply a month-long trip after graduation, allowing your child to experience the great outdoors with their peers can help them to develop a sense of independence and learn essential teamwork skills. However, just because they’re going to be embarking on this trip without you doesn’t mean you can’t help them prepare. Here are some ways to offer your support:
Financial Planning
While some families can afford to pay for their child’s adventures without too much trouble, others will struggle financially. If money is tight in your household, you might want to consider some of the ways you can start preparing financially.
First, you need to draw up a rough plan of all your child’s expenses when going on an outdoor holiday. Not only will they need to be able to feed themselves throughout this time, but there may also be other costs associated with it, such as flight costs, accommodation, and even visas for an extended stay in another country. Not to mention the cost of doing activities like skiing, white water rafting and kayaking. You might be able to save money tax efficiently to help them with this through the use of a junior ISA. This can allow you to save money over the course of months and years so that you have a decent pool of savings to pass over when your child reaches adulthood.
Essential Skills
If you have experience with going on adventures in the outdoors, whether that’s hiking, camping or mountain climbing, you may want to pass on some of your knowledge to your child. Teach them about how they can stay safe and take them on some trails so they can get used to the experience before heading off on their one.
However, having your child assist with chores, depending on how old they are, could also enable them to gain important skills that will be useful while they’re away at an outdoor-focused summer camp. A lot of these places will want young people to do their own laundry and chip in with making meals, so giving your kids some experience in this will help them to adapt more easily.
Emotional Encouragement
If your child loves outdoor adventures when you all go out as a family, then an independent trip would be an amazing experience. However, some children are nervous or reluctant about taking big steps like this. Make sure you offer lots of advice and encouragement, helping to reassure them that they’re more than capable of tackling this adventure, especially if they’re nearing adulthood. However, at the end of the day, it is your child’s decision and if they feel more comfortable taking things slow then maybe a few day trips or weekends away would be better suited to their needs.
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