| As the Christmas holidays come to an end and the | | | | their summer (or parents who are looking to get a |
| remnants of family visits are swept under the rug, | | | | little quiet time). Considered leaders in the art of teen |
| the children tire of their new toys in an ever hurrying | | | | adventure travel, Big Brother Backpacking offers |
| pace and work begins anew, it seems as though the | | | | small, five person group tours aimed at teaching |
| hectic pace of the holidays is put behind us yet again. | | | | teens the art of travel leadership while providing |
| If only that were so. | | | | them with the opportunity to see something more |
| For a teenager, or a family that houses one, the end | | | | than just their home town. As a tour company |
| of Christmas can only mean one thing: next stop | | | | specifically aimed towards students, Big Brother |
| summer vacation. As the New Year dawns, all eyes | | | | Backpacking provides a coming of age European |
| turn to those three long months where parents toil | | | | travel adventure without the worry that your child |
| away at work while their teens run amok, gaining | | | | will end up spending the entire time (and allowance) in |
| valuable life experiences in the arts of ‘hanging | | | | a bar in Amsterdam. Since the company allows the |
| out' and learning to disobey. Well, perhaps summer | | | | travelers themselves to determine where the trip will |
| isn't all bad, but it can certainly take its toll on a | | | | go in real-time, students are taught how to plan and |
| parent worried about the advancement of their child | | | | execute a trip in a small group, make close friends |
| outside of the boundaries of school. | | | | from a variety of backgrounds, and experience |
| In the past, parents have worked hard towards | | | | Europe in a hands on way. Instead of being forced |
| finding places that their kids can go during the | | | | into a learning environment they will attempt to |
| summer where they can learn, experience, and stay | | | | ignore, teens are given a firsthand opportunity to see |
| out of mom and dad's hair. From summer camp, | | | | what personal success through determination really |
| sports clubs, camping trips and a week with | | | | means (not to mention getting a bit of much needed |
| Grandma, parents have stretched themselves fairly | | | | exercise away from the computer and a solid |
| thin for ideas about what to do with a boisterous | | | | geography lesson). |
| teen that both takes up months worth of time and | | | | For parents willing to wait until graduation and splurge |
| provides teens with something they can actually take | | | | on a cross country drinking tour, there are also |
| away from the experience. However, more often | | | | companies aimed towards allowing the youth to run |
| than not, teens end up apathetic (or start out that | | | | wild for the first time. Bus tours for post grads such |
| way), and turn the experience from something they | | | | as Contiki tours ( or European Bus Tours ( offer the |
| could learn from to something they disdain. | | | | chance to see a variety of bars and clubs across the |
| Perhaps this year, parents should try a new system. | | | | continent (and maybe a site or two along the way). |
| It is time to stop trying to impose learning | | | | (Unlike a backpacking tour, however, these bus tours |
| experiences on your teens and start giving them | | | | leave much to be desired in the way of experience, |
| something they won't recognize as a life lesson. I | | | | as without photos a lot of the trip's events are |
| mean, of course, travel. | | | | mysteriously forgotten the morning after.) For |
| Since as far back as I can remember, the idea of | | | | parents looking to send their kids on a budgeted |
| backpacking Europe has been a rite of passage for | | | | sightseeing trip (careful of the hidden fees), bus tours |
| affluent families in North America. In the past, | | | | are a good way of knowing where your child is and |
| however, a lack of safety, cheap flights and tour | | | | what they are up to on any given day. |
| companies forced parents to wait until their teens | | | | Whichever you choose, remember that this summer |
| were already emancipated before they could give | | | | can be different. Your child can be satisfied with |
| them the experience of their lives. Nowadays, | | | | learning and gaining life experience, can be kept safe, |
| however, this has all changed. Companies such as Big | | | | and can truly enjoy themselves doing something |
| Brother Backpacking ( offer tours specifically for | | | | productive. Now it is just a matter of letting them go. |
| youths looking to do something life changing with | | | | |