How to Prepare for Your Child Going on a Trip Without You

It happens to all parents; sometimes, your child comes home with a letter about a school trip, and a million questions start spinning around in your head? Should I let them go? Am I comfortable with this? And so on and so on. Being a parent is tough sometimes! So how do you prepare for your child going on a school trip and spending a few days away from the family?

These tips may help you to feel more prepared for your child’s school trip:

Benefits

If you do decide to let your child go on the school trip, you may find that it gives them a confidence boost. Being able to explore independently from their parents (while being supervised by responsible adults) can give your child’s confidence a real boost.

Kids sometimes really enjoy the feeling of independence that a school trip away from home brings, as they take on more responsibility for their daily tasks without you being there to remind them.

Going away on a trip with their school friends is likely to be an exciting prospect for your child. The idea of travelling somewhere surrounded by their friends and then sharing a room with them probably sounds like a lot of fun for your child.

Get them Prepared

If there are aspects of your child’s daily routine that they struggle with, then it’s probably worth getting them to practice this at home in the weeks leading up to the trip. Whether it’s tying their shoelaces or washing their hair by themselves, it can be useful to try and master those skills before the trip to help them feel more confident while they are away from you.

Get Yourself Prepared

Feeling organised is a great way to feel in control of the situation, so making sure that your child is fully prepared with everything that they need for their trip is likely to make you feel better when they go. Study the equipment list carefully and double check it when packing your child’s stuff to make sure that they have everything they need and to make life less stressful for everyone.

Remember to speak about the trip in a positive way in front of your child; if they sense that you are feeling anxious about them going, it may provoke feelings of anxiety for them too.

Find out more about the trip from the organiser, for example, if your child’s school trip is organised by a company such as NST they may have lots of information available for you to look through to get more a feel for the trip.

Stay Connected

Check whether your child is allowed to take electronic devices such as a phone or tablet with them on the trip as this could be a handy way to stay in touch. If they aren’t allowed to take a phone with them, check with the school the method they plan to use to keep parents up to date with what is happening on the trip.