I was talking with a friend this morning whose son is going on a school trip next week for a whole month. They are going to Peru, travelling to various places, staying with a village family for ten days, with the intention of, literally, mucking in, or out, helping to rebuild a school, trekking through part of the Amazon basin, up to Machu Pichu of course, and various things I've forgotten. My friend had absolutely no chance of raising the 4.5 K needed, so paid a deposit of £250 for her son. The lad then earned the rest, all of it, himself, doing things such as decorating, washing cars, packing at checkouts, anything he could find. He managed to earn the whole lot, and I think will have the experience of a lifetime, an experience he has worked so hard to get. He's fifteen years old. There are twenty of them going on the trip, and everyone of them has raised the money themselves, in a similar manner.
Do our kids expect that kind of handout from their parents? I doubt it very much. If they really want to go, they will make the money themselves.
