<p>There is a huge difference between parents giving their teens funds so they can party for a week on South Padre island, and a young adult who has worked two jobs after high school to save money for an extended volunteer vacation in a developing country.</p>
<p>Yes, Im sure if she wanted to she could have " gotten into trouble". If you read my posts from that time, we *were *very nervous particulary as we didn’t have regular communication with her, but she was an adult & we trusted her. The purpose of a volunteer vacation is the antithesis of a " party" vacation.</p>
<p>She also had actually taken a " senior week" trip in high school during senior year. Only it was almost three weeks, it was the culmination of a year long class in which they restored & repaired computers. They then installed these computers in an African village and taught the villagers to use & repair them.</p>
<p>Both these trips were wonderful experiences for her- life changing truly.</p>
<p>You make some good points - I guess I just feel safer with Ss only being away for a week in semi-familiar surroundings. Also, S1 paid his own way for Senior Week and S2 will do the same.</p>
<p>A week of drinking, pot smoking, hooking up and lying on the beach. Sure, that compares to a volunteer experience in a foreign country. To each his own.</p>
<p>I am exactly this parent. Dead set against beach week, but I sent my barely-18-year-old daughter to another continent for 10 months after graduation.</p>
<p>I agree with others who object to the decadence of a senior week at the beach–not just the opportunities for all kinds of moral turpitude, but also the very idea that by graduating from high school, these teens have accomplished something worthy of being celebrated with a week of rowdy hedonism.</p>
<p>Yes, I recognize that many teens work very hard at their academics, and many work very hard at sports, arts or other activities besides. Yes, I recognize that many teens finish high school with accomplishments that are worthy of celebration. </p>
<p>But not in this way. My kids knew from the ninth grade that their parents would be open to a lot of possibilities for celebrating their eventual graduation from high school, but absolutely not open to this one.</p>
<p>I did a “beach week”. We didn’t call it that though. We paid for it ourselves, used my car, and had to do everything on our own. You’d be amazed at how much less tolerant you are of stupid actions when it’s YOUR money or YOUR car, even at 17/18.</p>
<p>I find it a bit amusing that you assume the ONLY things that occur at beach week are “drinking, smoking pot and hooking up”</p>
<p>Urrrh not for mine it didn’t. Also, usually those who do it at beach week, do it anyways somewhere else.</p>
<p>^ also ditto the car thing… We took my car, it was not driven while there - we took the bus, which we got a free wristband to ride for going to one of the free sober events.</p>
<p>This was talked about on the Parents Class of 2013 thread in the spring. Lots of opinions. </p>
<p>I heard many stories that would make your hair stand on end about what the “good”/NHS kids were doing that week. One trip to the hospital (no one in the condo was sober enough to drive so they had to call around for a driver), lots of hooking up/contests, and of course drinking. And this is the info that was disclosed to the “parent network” and/or posted on FB. I can’t imagine what else happened.</p>
<p>I know kids drink and do stupid things. But we as parents opted not to put that much temptation on our kid for a whole week. Too easy to make one stupid mistake that could haunt you forever. We told S if he gave us a plan and itinerary, we would consider it, but he never did.</p>
<p>I know one group that actually came home early because they got sick of all the partying and cleaning up. Another condo got kicked out for too many noise violations. And again, these were the star athletes and students and volunteers at the HS.</p>
<p>I posted in that other thread as a home owner in a NJ shore town. As I responded to a parent then-would you give the keys to your home, all it’s furnishing and electronics to a dozen 18 year olds and leave town allowing them full, unsupervised access? Doubt many would…</p>
<p>That may well be true. That is not, however, a persuasive argument that as a parent, I should condone–much less, facilitate–any of those things.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. So far there have not been any official plans made. Within my family I’m usually the one who makes things happen, so I am somewhat hopeful the idea will fizzle.
Any positive stories out there? I know plenty of people go and drink all week, but I’m hopeful that there are other things that go on.</p>
<p>Surely many things besides drinking go on. Perhaps students use it as an opportunity to discover a new public library. (Forgive my humor- even though my youngest just finished grad school I remember some of these dilemmas like it was yesterday.)</p>
<p>It’s a beach party- by design. That probably means different things to different kids, just as it does in college. Some kids love the opportunity, some are relieved to be able to “blame” their parents for being unable to attend. I am sure the precise nature of the festivities varies depending upon who goes. The parents I knew who had kids participating found it hard to just wait it out, knowing the likelihood of what was happening. May they all be safe, whatever they are pursuing. Senior celebrations are awesome once everyone can exhale.</p>
<p>I did plenty of different things during senior week. We went jet skiing, went boating, down to the pier/amusement, out to dinner, free things OCMD does FOR senior week (“sober events” - ie pancake eating competitions, mini golf - if you go you got a wristband to ride the OCMD bus for free so there was no driving). My experience was absolutely grand. </p>
<p>I’m personally glad my mum trusted me enough to go and make smart decisions for myself. I stayed with my girlfriends at a cute place, the entire hotel was seniors. </p>
<p>It just seems odd to not trust, but then just two months later assume everything is hunky dory to go off to college.</p>
<p>And I didn’t get arrested, pregnant or in any way shape or form harmed.</p>
<p>Yes, we;re not saying that NO one has a sober, innocent senior week. The problem is, the vast majority are there to party hard, with absolutely NOTHING else to do that week except go to the beach. That amounts to lots of peer pressure to join in and overdo it.</p>
<p>I trust my kid in college because there are thousands of other things competing for his time and attention: clubs, sports, campus activities and oh, yes, classes and homework.</p>
<p>At senior week, the plan is to let loose and unfortunately some kids’ judgment is less than ideal given that much freedom and access to alcohol etc.</p>
<p>Exactly. Most recent graduates who go to beach week do so in order to get intoxicated and do stupid, reckless, irresponsible stuff. And being around a crowd of drunk people who are acting stupidly, recklessly and irresponsibly increases the chances that you too are going to do something stupid, reckless or irresponsible–or be harmed by someone else who is.</p>
<p>Where’s the value in beach week that makes it worth assuming those risks? </p>
<p>That’s why my wife and I were willing to consider a lot of ways to celebrate graduation, but not that one.</p>
Not to hijack, but this is another thing that gets me. Why is it so important for kids to go two continents away to do volunteer service? I’m not trying to come off as a xenophobe here and I realize there is a cultural advantage to travel. But are there not any people worthy of their time and talent in their own communities? And what about treasure? A lot of diapers could be purchased, a lot of pantry food bought and a lot of local lives made easier for what families and kids pay to volunteer in foreign countries - and I say that as someone from an area that ranks 49th or 50th in everything good and 1st or 2nd in everything bad.</p>
<p>My youngest son went to Myrtle Beach and all I can say is that I turned to my coworker whose daughter was a year behind and said “GO WITH HER”. It was not good. Downright dangerous. I believe there are criminals lurking for the kids who come there during those weeks. I won’t elaborate so don’t ask me to.</p>
(Forgive my humor- even though my youngest just finished grad school I remember some of these dilemmas like it was yesterday.)</p>