Spring Break Europe Trip - should I be concerned?
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Anonymous
| Signed our DC up for a 10 day school trip to Europe on Spring Break without thinking too much about it. It's co-ed. We've been on uncountable sports trips, but those were all single sex. Chaperone's are all teachers and I'm getting concerned there may be a little looking the other way on sex and alcohol on the trip. Now that it's getting close, I'm getting concerned about it. No way a few teachers can keep a close eye on 30+ kids in 10+ hotel rooms. Am I overreacting, or should I have thought this one through more? I trust my DC, but 10 days lightly supervised with the opposite sex with ready access to hotel rooms seems like a big temptation. |
Anonymous
| Age? |
Anonymous
| I would be worried too. To many kids for chaperones to be mindful of. Things will happen and everyone will sign a code of silence. |
Anonymous
| Well some kids will definitely be hooking up, but if you trust your DC then you trust it will be ok. |
Anonymous
No restricted by class that I know - so Seniors to Sophmores. |
Anonymous
| My DD is going too. And I haven't given this one single thought. DD goes to Europe every summer, but to visit family, so pretty protected environment. But she certainly was looked at and looked herself at some boys. If your DD is sexually active, I would make sure she has protection. But, generally, there is a lot of partying and staying out in Europe, but most of it just that. So, it depends on a teen. Oh, to remember my youth, staying at clubs till 4 even at 16, dancing, having ton of fun, there was no drinking in my group, but in others there was. All done with parental approval, taking buses or metro home, stopping for a late night/early morning snack..it was all pretty innocent, but times have changed. I do wish my kids could've experience at least some of it. This going to the mall and movies is so lame. |
Anonymous
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I would relax and let your DC enjoy what will be a fun and enjoyable trip. Does your kid push the envelope and get in trouble regularly? If not, then I would trust them to behave on this trip. Have a talk with them before the trip about the expectations. Make sure to include the fact that it would pretty shitty of your child (or anyone else) to put a teacher in a terrible position of having to discipline them about behavior that, as high school students, they know isn't allowed on school trips (even if they "forget", they know they are doing something wrong...). Also point out the fact that all the rules that apply at school will apply on this trip and doing something stupid would not be worth the trouble.
Also, why do you think there will be any looking the other way on the part of the teachers? In my experience with school trips my kids have taken overseas (and domestic), the school is quite vocal about the expectations of how the kids will behave. Quite frankly, teachers do not want to deal with your misbehaving kids. There have been cases of kids being sent home and disciplined for behavior issues. Why wouldn't you expect the same for this trip. Also, I assume the school will have a meeting with parents before the trip to discuss details and expectations. Ask questions at the meeting that will settle your nerves. |
Anonymous
| I feel like you don't trust your daughter to use good judgment and that is sad. When I was 16 I took a couple of class trip ls that were co-ed and it never occurred to me to drink or have sex and I wasn't just boy crazy I was boy berserk lol. Trust your daughter. |
Anonymous
| Sorry somehow I confused DC with DD but my advice remains the same: trust your kid. |
Anonymous
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I would not be concerned and my DCs both took several school sponsored trips. The chaperones seemed to have plenty of oversight.
Wasn't there a local Catholic boys school recently where the boys got in trouble on a school trip for bringing in a hooker? So single sex schools don't guarantee no shenanigans either. |
Anonymous
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On my spring break ski trips to CO every year we see many (hundreds of ) teenagers from UK having their spring break in CO. I asked the teachers/adults with them why they come all the way to CO to ski, instead of those much better ski places in Europe - they are closer and far better? They laughed and said all at once: because in the US they would not be allowed to drink.
About sex and hook up: I once stayed in a hotel in Winterpark, every room was occupied by these UK kids except us (my daughter and me ) - I didn't know then about this British spring break tradition. I could hear everything - I could hear the accompanying adults trying to get certain kids out of certain rooms. Huge commotions every morning and night. |
Anonymous
| You are overreacting. |
Anonymous
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My DD - 9th grade is going to Iceland with her co-ed school.
24 students, one teacher, two parents, one guide. No concerns just VERY jealous! |
Anonymous
| Op if your DD has a long term boyfriend than they might do there whatever they do here. If she doesn't have a long term boyfriend, perhaps a romance - could - develop. Seems like you're pulling this idea out of thin air. And why would you think she would jump right into the sack? |
Anonymous
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I remember my spring break trip to Europe at my fancy private high school in the 1990s. They were still a novelty at the time for generally only the language classes had exchange programs / trips.
Lots of smoking and alcohol. Smoking in front of the teachers, alcohol consumed when they went to bed at 9 pm sharp. We even went to a club one night and the teachers sat around the corner while we had drinks. The language exchange programs were also infamous for smoking and drinking. A different time, eh? Smoking used to be very prevalent among private school students and thankfully no longer. |