Lucy Lynch, travel expert at JENZA shares the ultimate gap year guide for parents.
It’s hard letting your child fly the coop, especially when it’s to the other side of the world. So, if your offspring has decided to spread their wings and spend a year working and travelling abroad, the below guide from Lucy Lynch, travel expert at JENZA, will help you navigate this period and ensure you’re the perfect gap year parent.
Lucy says: “For many young people, a gap year abroad is their first time travelling without a parent for an extended period of time and, whilst it may be anxiety inducing to let them embark on this adventure alone, there are some simple ways you can support them without becoming a dreaded helicopter parent.
“Gap years are a source of incredible personal and professional growth. Don’t just take my word for it, as six in ten believing it directly benefitted their professional career. Volunteering (31%), cultural exchanges (21%), and internships (23%) all rank amongst the most popular ways to carry out a gap year, being a far cry from the association of gap years just being a holiday. Young people’s experience on these extended travels leaves them with greater communication skills (55%) and the ability to adapt to new environments (51%), making them even more employable on the other end.
“Support your child in every way possible, this next chapter will be transformational in so many ways. Your backing of their world experiences, will make all the difference!”
Embrace their plans
A gap year can be transformational for young adults, where they immerse themselves not only in new surroundings, but also new cultures and ways of living. Gap year’s provide life-enriching experiences and offer a new level of independence, so you need to embrace the process and trust that your child is going to grow exponentially in this time. Share in their excitement and encourage as much exploration as possible.
Whilst they may enjoy a transformational experience at a new moon party on the beach, it’s more than likely that they will also discover lifelong friends, career enhancing work and life skills and financial dexterity. Stranger things have happened…
It’s all about three words, budget, budget, budget
Unless your child is the next Martin Lewis, they will likely be sending you a text here and there asking for help covering the bills, or some ‘backup money’ for an excursion they are wanting to go on. Whilst supporting from afar is of course a generous and caring thing to do, you shouldn’t cave at each message.
Frank discussions about finances and budgeting can feel awkward in the moment, but in the long run, they will set your child up for the best possible time away. Sit down, go through in detail about how much they have saved, what the realistic spend will be, and how they will reach their goal with your support and encouragement. Time spent researching how they can sustain their budget, or even get a job or work placement abroad to provide steady finances as they travel, gives them the means for the best success. That way, when they message you for a small top up as they bought too many pairs of ‘elephant parachute pants’ in Thailand, you know they have done everything in their means to enjoy their gap year.
Use ‘Find my Friends’, but in moderation.
Now, we are all guilty of using Find my Friends to locate our offspring from time to time, especially when it comes to making sure they are home safe, or if they happen to be at a McDonalds breakfast before 10am…
That said consistently checking their geolocation when they are thousands of miles away is not advisable. For one, you will make yourself sick with worry and if your child ever found out… Better not to.
You need to accept that your child is now an adult and rely on trust and communication. Discuss communication frequency with them before they depart. Everyone is different – some teens will be happy to check in every couple of days, others will keep you updated as and when they travel between countries. Try and find a compromise that works for both of you.
And just remember, bad Wi-Fi and a lack of signal can make it harder to keep in touch and may even cause them to drop off the Find my Friends map for short periods of time, so best to take a breath before DM’ing every one of their friends.
Master checking in, in the ‘right way’
Phrasing in communication is key as the last thing you want is for your child to feel stifled by your messages. Instead, inject a bit of fun into your check-ins. Just as they’re sharing photos and videos of their experiences, share some of your own. And get creative – a packed commute and grey skies aren’t going to inspire them to keep in touch. Share pics from family events, favourite homecooked meals and not forgetting the all-important pet updates. Face it, they may not be missing you, but they sure will be missing their cherished pet.
It is their gap year, not yours…
Part of being the best gap year parent possible lies in allowing your child the agency to craft their experience, and to live every moment of it. That begins as soon as the planning starts. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement , weaving in some of the places you wanted to visit, however, it is best to let them plan it out (and then suggest that maybe they can’t fit ten cities into ten days). It is also worth saying, please do not make plans to surprise them unannounced along their travels… that may not go down as well as you might have thought.
-Ends-
Notes for editors:
Study of 2,000 UK adults carried out by OnePoll on behalf of JENZA in April 2025.
For further press information, please contact:
Cait Lesko | Sarah Geppert | Elsa Findlay
Rooster.
T: +44 (0)203 440 8930
E: [email protected]
About The JENZA Travel Group:
The JENZA Travel Group consists of Summer Camp USA brand, BUNAC, Irish work and travel brand, USIT, Canadian work and travel brand, SWAP, and B Corp™ certified youth-led work and travel brand, JENZA.
The JENZA Travel Group has been creating life-shaping adventures for students, grads and 18-30s for 60+ years.
To check out the experiences offered, visit: www.jenza.com
About JENZA:
JENZA exists so that young people never have to choose between getting a job or going travelling. The working holiday and intern abroad experts – earn and explore in Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and UK.
In June 2025 JENZA received B Corporation™ certification – joining a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact.
For more information, visit: www.jenza.com
