Parents

“When you’re ready, the opportunity has been lost.” ~Stan Crow, Journeys’ Director Emeritus

“What I would’ve given to have found myself at age 13!” ~Program parent, reflecting on the experience of his daughter 15 years after her Coming of Age trip.

Our programs are a rite of passage for your son or daughter of course, but they’re also a rite of passage for you.  Marking and acknowledging the transitions that your children go through is difficult, and in our experience, the most difficult one is this:

Letting go

One of the challenging realities is that in order to experience their rites of passage, children need to leave home, and the parents cannot be the one to initiate the youth.   Yet parents are an important part—this is why all of our programs include an opening and closing that involves the families as well as the youth, why we have extensive registration packets that give parents and youth a chance to explore what this program is about for all of them, and why we provide ongoing opportunities for families to reconnect with Journeys.

Letting go is, of course, different for you if you’re the parent of an 8 year old than for the parent of an 18 year old.  Each of our programs are designed specifically for the developmental needs of each age group, and similarly, the parent involvement and role varies considerably from program to program. But some things remain the same.

For example, letting go involves first and foremost, trust.  So let us reassure you that we know what we’re doing.  Our staff are well-trained, experienced in the wilderness, and experienced working with youth.  The average age of one of our “mentors,” as we call them, is over 30.  Our staff are trained over a number of years through an internal apprenticeship program; many also have experience working in other wilderness and youth programs before they join our team.  Each program is staffed by at least one Wilderness First Responder, the standard for wilderness first aid training.

Our youth programs are designed for those who want to be challenged. They offer a chance to journey to another setting, assess their family patterns, and discover new strengths in themselves before returning home as renewed individuals ready to establish responsible new relations. These are not remedial or rehabilitation programs. However, young people who have completed such programs will find this to be a meaningful next step.

Please peruse the pages of this web site.  Read about our different programs.  Explore the articles and resources, designed for those interested in creating coming of age programs, but also for parents (one you may find helpful, especially for the parents of girls, is the article, “Persephone Rides off on a Dark Horse—What Do I Do Now?”).  And if you have any questions, please feel free to call our office, or send us an email.  That’s what we’re here for…to help your family navigate through life transitions with intention and grace.