First, don’t worry – you won’t be giving up your child permanently! Trust us, he or she will return to the nest as soon as the money or the clean clothes run out. It is important to set up your student to be a successful traveler, because she or he will enjoy the trip more and may just learn a thing or two about self-sufficiency and thinking ahead.
Psychologist Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs gives you both a place to start. Take a look at the physiological elements of a trip – sleep, food and drink. Find out the hotel(s) being used during the trip and have the student figure out if she needs that hair dryer or if he has to bring an alarm clock. Most hotels offer vending machines for snacks and drinks, even if there’s no restaurant or snack bar, and even if they’re overpriced. If you know that without that favorite pillow, your student can’t get to sleep, send it along.
Food is included in most student trips, at least two meals a day if not all three. Look at the itinerary, and see what they are. Note those that are missing, and figure out where the group will be when it’s asked to forage for food on its own. Fast food may be the only option in some cases. Or, if cash is given out to everyone so they may choose what they want, try to learn the amount distributed. In any case, ask and learn the answers to questions like these:
• How much does a Big Mac® cost in Chicago?
• Will $10 be enough to fill up on at Walt Disney World ®, or will I need to supplement with a couple of my own dollars?
• Is there any healthy food available at our next stop?
The answers will help you and your student determine how much extra money might be needed for the basics. Add to that a budget for snacks and drinks, souvenirs and gifts for those at home, and you have planned for the amount of cash or credit/ATM instruments necessary for the trip. (Make sure attraction admissions, and theatre tickets, etc. are included in the trip cost, or you may have to add those in, too.)
Does your student need a gluten-free diet, or is there a peanut allergy? If so, notify the group leader and the travel company. With enough advance notice, both can alert restaurants and make adjustments as necessary. Even fast-food restaurants today are sensitive to these needs and offer alternatives to the “usual” that your child can order and eat, worry-free.
Beyond the physiological, Maslow named safety issues, “belonging” and self esteem as the next three levels of his needs pyramid. The group and the travel company cannot guarantee safety, but they do consider it essential and recommend places, lodging and transportation that meet student travel requirements. Travelers should never leave home with things, which if lost, could not be replaced. Valuables are not necessary on a trip, whether it’s the professional grade HD video camcorder, the “i-whatever” with a gazillion gigabyte hard drive, a flashy/showy wrist watch or those diamond stud earrings Auntie Em gave last Christmas.
“Belonging,” fortunately, is a natural part of being a member of a group. Most music organizations and school classes foster this as a part of the education process. If your student is new to the school or organization, suggest that he or she notify the group leader that she or he would like to be assigned to the same motorcoach/chaperone group/ hotel room as one of their friends who’s traveling on the same trip. Travel is a great activity for fostering new friendships and cementing old ones, as we’ve all learned.
The rest of the planning phase depends on the itinerary, so study it. Figure out the expected weather in the destination(s), for it will aid wardrobe planning. Is there a “dress up” dance or event? Don’t forget performance attire or equipment. Consider activities: It’s no fun swimming at the beach in jeans and a t-shirt. Uncomfortable shoes will quickly make you wish you’d broken them in before the trip, or chosen the “klunky but comfortable” ones. Each day’s program is not equally physically or mentally demanding as each other day. Some travel companies offer a handy check-list of what to bring and where to store it.
Throughout the pre-trip planning process, many subtle messages – eat properly, get your rest, watch your stuff, learn as much as you can, enjoy! – come through, especially if you take the time to “walk through” each day, imagining yourself trekking through Manhattan to Ground Zero or shopping the stalls on a San Francisco Chinatown scavenger hunt.
Travel, successfully executed and enjoyed, is terrific for creating in one Maslow’s highest level of the need pyramid: self-actualization, responsibility and sense of community. So, send that child away – prepared – and get ready to appreciate the wonderful results upon her or his return!
|
|
