My lovely girl just got a job as a holiday rep, any advice?

Legacy_user

Hello fellow romantics,
I am just looking for some extra advice, my teenage daughter has been offered a childrens holiday rep job with Thomas Cook.
Induction is in April and she will be away from home (for the first time) until October.
She is currently a full time student and doing very well. She has discussed it with her tutor, who feels that the job is too good an opportunity to miss.
Which it is...but... :eek::eek::eek:
I feel so torn, I want her to go and have a good time and broaden her horizons both literally and figuratively, but all I can think of is all the potential bad things that could happen!
I know I am being over-protective and will be fully supportive and encouraging.
Has anyone done this themselves or has had children take up this sort of job?
Please share your experiences and pass on some good advice so that we can help her get the best out of this little adventure!
Thanks,
Linda aka Dramama :rotfl:
ETA Facts of life including drugs, drink and safety awareness have been thoroughly covered already! She is very sensible.

flutterby_lil

Hi fab n funky mum

I was a CCL (childrens club leader) for Airtours, so will be a very similar job to what I did. I LOVED the experience. I saved so much money and was very sensible whilst out in Mallorca. We did have lots (and lots) of nights out, but I came back with a better view on the world, much more grown up (was 17 when I went) and much richer. Money is poor but we earned commission and got lots of free drinks in local bars.

Even though I went out lots, i did not go silly, we had airport transfers to do as well as look after the children, some nights the transfers would be at 3am, so you couldn't go out til too late as after the transfer you still had to work with the children afterwards.

I know you will worry, but regular weekly phone calls like I did to my family did help.

Your daughter will more than likely love the experience and gain a lot from it, including how much you actually do at home and the value of money

God luck to her.

gingin_2

Leave her be. If you've already had a chat with her then there is no need to do it again.

I guess she's over 18 and as much as I would love to keep my children in my nest forever I will encourage them to take gap years if they wish and travel the world. For your daughter, being paid to be in a different country is even better as she hopefully won't return in debt! I think it makes for an amazing experience and gives them confidence for life ahead.

I was a flight attendant at 19, a lot of long haul, a lot of dealing with the 18-30's crowd. I had the time of my life, so many memories and thankfully loads of photos that I can look back and laugh at.

getmore4less

Has she ever lived/worked in close proximity to other than family?

It can be an incestuous environment with peer pressures.

Allthough this varies depending on the location she will end up at.

troutyjo

firstly, congratulations to your daughter - I worked as an overseas rep for a number of years and thoroughly enjoyed it.. was extremely homesick for the first month as I was very shy, but over time gained so much confidence and found the ability and strength to deal with situations and experiences that I would have previously run a mile from..
practical side - phone calls home perhaps set aside a particular day of the week to phone - helps you alleviate the niggly worries, photos of family and friends to keep around her, emails/facebook contact and letters from home (loved receiving letters).
my parents regulary kept in touch with my friends - basically checking up on me to see if they've had phonecalls etc.. but this helped my mum especially as she felt the void of me not being there was slightly filled by hearing from my friends..
wishing her all the luck, so glad that I went, hope she enjoys it too!!:)

gingin_2

getmore4less wrote: »

It can be an incestuous environment with peer pressures.

I would agree with that. Have a chat about it and make sure she takes condoms (lots of them).

Okydoky25

Get her an Ipad, load Skype on to it and set her free. She will have an amazing experience.

Bufger

As soon as my kids are over 16 they can go off and seek any adventures they want!

Enjoy the peace and quiet. She will feel safe because she always has home to come back to if she doesnt like it or feels insecure.

Souk08

Hi fabnfunky mum. I worked as a rep for 6 years and had an absolute ball. I made amazing friends who I still keep up with and fly all over the place to see. I coped with lots of stressful situations because I had to and it was totally the making of me.

SOME reps are completely wild (not judging as I was one of them :rotfl:) and some aren't, just like in any job really.

I phoned home a few times a week and emailed at some points as well. I missed them as we are very close but it was so worth it. Mum came to see me a few times, as did my best friend and brother and sister. They got massively reduced flights and stayed with me for free. My bestie once flew out for a fiver :j and we had a great wee week. You could maybe get out at some point and have a cheap holiday in the sun.

We worked in a big hotel at one point and it was great fun. I felt like mother to a load of naughty kids but I loved it. We spent loads of time together and sunbathed round a pool most afternoons, got to go on fabby free excursions and had nights out paid for.

It CAN be incestuous and hard going. She might hate it and be home within a month as some folk were but send her with your absolute blessing and let her know that she can come home if it turns out not to be for her.

As an aside it's looked on quite favourably by employers as they know you can't be scared of hard work/odd hours/doing what you need to do when the need arises!

Souk08

:rotfl:Just realised I've mentioned lying by a pool most days and working like a demon in the same post. What I mean is GENERALLY we would have some afternoons off for fun in the sun but if there was a domestic/lost child/insurance case needing dealt with then that was what we'd do, til it was done.

onlyroz

What course is she on, and is this meant to be a "gap year" where she can go back to her studies later on? Or if it's a permanent job then could she continue her studies later on if it didn't work out? On the face of it, this sounds like a good opportunity for a young person to see a bit of the world, gain some experiences and make some money too.