Parents! I need your help...

[Davids-Coco]

I am working on an assignment and need to talk to my "target audience". This is you if you have a teenage or recently have had one.

Imagine that your child is going on a choir/whatever trip to Europe and Africa. You have to attend a informational meeting at the school. At the meeting, they hand you an informational brochure.

what information do you want in that brochure?

It can be anything... from what shots your children need to contact information for each hotel to bios on all the chaperones. Anything!

TIA! I need your help!

 

[CathrynRose]

I am working on an assignment and need to talk to my "target audience". This is you if you have a teenage or recently have had one.

Imagine that your child is going on a choir/whatever trip to Europe and Africa. You have to attend a informational meeting at the school. At the meeting, they hand you an informational brochure.

what information do you want in that brochure?

It can be anything... from what shots your children need to contact information for each hotel to bios on all the chaperones. Anything!

TIA! I need your help!

I'd want the entire itenerary... where theyre staying, how theyre getting there, who is in charge of who - like minute by minute.... this would be a HUGE trip, and scary for a parent (at least me!) How many chaperones are planned, can I chapperone.... Safety would be big for me.

Then I'd wanna know how much I gotta dish out...

 

[Kirby]

Ditto! All of the above plus phone numbers, addresses of where they are staying. Who the contact people are the the places they are visiting and how to get in touch with them. And cell phone numbers of all the chaperones. You can never have enough information.

 

[Southern4sure]

I would also want to know if the kids have any time to go shopping or sight seeing and such, if so will they be on their own and etc. How many kids per chaperone and etc. For a major trip like your talking about, dont be surprised if some parents ask for a minute by minute itenerary with all phone numbers of teachers, chaperones, hotels and such.

 

[BessVa]

Have an explanation as to why some things will or won't work - will American cell phones even work "over there;" with the time difference, when can calls be made and accepted (I'm on the East Coast at 6 pm - according to Pete's Pond, it's midnight in Botswana - I know I don't want calls at midnight).

How much spending money and who's responsible for it - is it the teenagers who are responsible for all their money or are the chaperones going to dole it out.

Drinking/drug policy - what is legal "over there" but what will happen if that contradicts school/church/sponsoring group's policy.

All the money things - Deposit time tables, refund policies, fund raising activities, worse case situations (your daughter was caught drinking in the hotel bar, you must buy her a plane ticket for the flight home tomorrow), insurance costs.

Roommate policy, co-ed room visitation policy (believe me, they will)

At the very beginning you should bring the teenagers into the decision-making effort - they're much more likely to abide by the rules if they help make them.

 

[BessVa]

How much luggage can be brought and what kind?

What can be brought - what clothes are needed or required ("When we visit the Church of _____, the girls must wear a scarf or headcovering", "closed-toed shoes are required for the hike up the mountain"), electronic devices? hairdryers? adapters?

Medical information and medications - who handles that? Do the teenagers take care of their own meds or do the chaperones dole them out?

How are personal meetings to be handled? "My uncle lives in Bonn - can I go out to dinner with him?"

 

[Davids-Coco]

Thank you all.

Anything else? How about information on prepairing for the trip and things you need to do... ie shots, passport, visas, etc.

 

[mom2boys]

How much $? What is included in that cost...all meals/some meals; tipping - waitstaff/bellhops...;all transportation; any sightseeing/side trips.

Beyond whether it was financially feasible for me to send my kids (I'll have two in HS band for three years plus each on his own for a year at either end - 5 yrs of band trips for us.) the make or break issues for me would be security and personal safety - and both of mine are boys.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Here is the company my dd's chaperones used for her trip to Wash. DC over the summer....
http://www.efsworld.com/Main/front_nonflash.html

 

[laurie31]

The only thing I can think of that hasn't been mentioned is the specifics of the money.

Will they need to change money prior to the trip (into Euros or whatever) or will they bring US $ and change there. Do they need cash, traveler's checks, a credit card, an ATM card, or all of the above, and what requirements do the cards need (ie- some countries prefer Visa, some places don't take AmEX, some places require a 4 digit PIN with a credit card, etc.)

Laurie

 

[Serena]

All of the above.

 

[DVCLiz]

Definitely yes to the vaccines, etc. And add information about where you get these shots, what they cost, what the schedule is, etc. When my daughter went to Africa last summer, the Health Department had a nice brochure with all of this info, including a space for us to write in what shots she took and when she was due for other medications.
Add passport info too, and stress DEADLINES!!!! A few kids almost missed the trip because they left their passport application process too late.

 

[Mom-to-3]

Is this an overview meeting for parents deciding whether or not to let their child go on the trip?

Or is this the "Here's all the info you need for the upcoming trip" meeting?

If it's the latter, you need to plan on a lot more than a "brochure." I'd plan on a handout -- multi-page, double sided.

 

[SandrA9810]

Ummm, calm down just a bit, it seems like he's only doing a speech for class... "need to talk to my "target audience".
You can either go with Brochure that this will be an upcoming trip that the group leaders are thinking about, or that you've gotten an invitation to that country to perform and you want to go over it with the parents.
Or go with the information pamphlet, that would be like telling the parents every detail of every day, and that you've already accepted the invitation. And all the group leaders are all go for it.

Another thing, you gotta be specific about what kind of group you're sending over, and where is the group from. Is this a high school group and that parents will be involved as the chaperons or is this a church thing that the youth pastor and other trusted members and maybe a few parents will be going as chaperons.
Don't forget to include how the chaperons will be paying.

And any of you parents that are thinking about sending your kid to a foriegn country with a credit card... are you freakin nuts?? Not only will they buy drinks for themselve, and every one else that's there. But you also have to pay a percentage to the credit card company for the exchange rate on every purchase. Which could be as high as 3%. Travellers checks are the way to go. Plus they're more of a hassle to deal with, so they'll less likely want to take the time to buy stuff. And they can be traced and canceled if neccessary. Although I'd still send a 100$ american to be exchanged for tips and small purchases like a soda.

 

[DisneyPhD]

This isn't a feild trip to WDW, going to Europe and Africa is huge, and big places that are very different depending on where you are.

I would want to know the safely of the areas they are going. Africa is very different depending on where what courntry and where they will be.

Lots and Lots and lots of info.

What they will need, what you can and can't bring.

 

[MrsNick]

I would want to know what quality of medical facilities are available in the event of a medical emergency. Can the doctors speak English? How does their training compare to the training of Western doctors? Is there any plan on how to handle a large group of kids in the event of civil unrest? Where is the closest American Embassy? Those would be my first questions. Then I would start asking about lodging, spending money, cost, etc. But safety and security would be Number One.

There are places DH and I have travelled to that we would never THINK of bringing DSD to.

 

[Davids-Coco]

For clarification, he is a SHE, and she is a grad studen taking a document design class for her MA in Technical Writing.

My assignment is very specific - for choir students going to africa and eastern europe. I am creating the document - NOT the trip. As such, we are allowed to make any assumptions regarding the trip that we would like... chaperones hired through a company, everything included, whatever we want.

However, part of being a good tech writer is knowing your audience. I am not a parent of a teenager, so asking the 35000 people on here was a good way to get in touch with such an audience. It is using my resources.

Now that I have defended the project and not any intentions of sending "real" kids to these places...

Thanks again for the info.