A lot of parents are pretty divided on the issue.

Some are uncomfortable with the idea of a child taking an academic year off while most of their peers go to college while others see it as a great opportunity to recharge and engage in other opportunities such as work, internships, and travel.

Some parents who saw it as a good idea have said later that they regretted allowing their child to do it as the child “wasted” the year and did not seek out any opportunities they promised their parents they would.

In some cases, this also means the child will be staying another year at home after the age of 18 without being in the process of receiving an education, which some parents are uncomfortable with.

Where do you stand on this topic? Would you allow your child to take a gap year and design their own usage of it themselves, or would you want to approve their ideas/plan beforehand? How would you make sure that your child was using their gap year appropriately? Are gap years not an option for your children at all?