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Gap Year
Not Quite Ready for College By Amy Henry
Crenshaw advises parents to take a deep breath and listen to their teens. "A lot of kids come out of high school more confused than directed," he says. By listening to a teen's feelings and ideas, parents can open the door to a dialogue. The question, "What kind of journey can we start together?" is more productive than angry ultimatums, he says.
When Carol Cochrane's daughter announced she wanted to transfer to another school halfway through her first semester at college, Cochrane, a physical therapist in Amherst, Mass., encouraged her to take time off instead. "I was afraid she'd wind up not going back to school, but I was more worried she would transfer without being really sure what she wanted," Cochrane says.
Many parents fear that a teen who doesn't go straight to college, or who opts to take time off in the course of their studies, will get permanently derailed. But the time to explore possibilities outside academia can help teens connect, or re-connect, with what fires their passions. Cochrane's daughter thought she might like to work with either animals or young children. She answered an ad for a receptionist in a vet clinic, and was quickly promoted to vet tech assistant. She is now applying to animal science programs. "It was ideal," Cochrane says. "It made her decide what she wanted to do."