Family Circle Magazine Recommends Parents and Students Discuss a Gap Year's Benefits

Family Circle, a publication geared for parents, explains how a Gap Year is a chance for a teen to explore and mature without the many pressures felt during high school and carried into college, pressures that are mentally and even physically exhausting.

Author Allison Slater Tate believes that parents should most definitely discuss a Gap Year and its benefits with their teenage children. Ms. Tate supports her beliefs in the Gap Year with the assistance of the Center for Interim Programs’ president, Holly Bull. Holly suggests recognizing the "treadmill" that students often feel they are on and looking into how a Gap Year, built with a well designed plan, can bring them back into full ownership of their lives and education. Holly also recommends that, while parents may encourage their children to consider a Gap Year, whether or not they ultimately decide to take a gap year can be less important than the fact that they’re making a conscious decision about their future. A decision that is a boost to their personal power.

For more information, read Ms. Tate's article.