This is every parents’ worst nightmare but we have to let them go

While many Aussie parents are freaking out about their teenagers’ first coming of age trip, we can’t wrap them in cotton wool for life, writes Julie Cross.

Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles deserved to be having the best trip ever.

Their generation was hit particularly hard by Covid.

Being locked down on and off for two years, just as they were starting to explore their independence as 15 and 16 year olds, must have felt like they were having some of their best years snatched away from them.

I know because my son is one year older.

They would have returned to their classrooms at the pointy end of their schooling, when the pressure was on to work hard and sit exams.

Melbourne teen Bianca Jones dies in methanol poisoning tragedy. Picture: Facebook

Holly Bowles is critically ill after a suspected mass poisoning in Laos. Picture: Facebook

So how good must it have felt for these 19 year olds to be heading off for a year of travel, which has become a rite of passage for most young Aussies?

They were looking for fun, and they were having it, which is why watching those videos of them jumping off a boat into the water, or out exploring without a care in the world, breaks my heart.

My son, who didn’t have a gap year, continued with his studies after HSC. Not long ago, he turned around and said, “I don’t feel like I’ve had any fun yet,” which is why he saved and booked a trip to Thailand with a friend. They go in 10 days.

Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand. Picture: iStock

Along with a huge checklist of dos and don’ts before he goes, will be a serious sit-down about methanol poisoning.

My advice will be to only drink bottled beers and even then make sure they’re opened in front of him.

And, however tempting free shots or cocktails may appear, it’s just not worth the risk.

People in South East Asia are so friendly, and welcoming, that anyone can let their guard down, particularly wide-eyed young travellers who are experiencing freedom for the first time.

Let’s not forget Laos, where this mass poisoning occurred, is a very poor country and it’s a cruel lesson to find out that there are people willing to risk the lives of others for the sake of a few bucks.

Many of my friends with teens the same age as Bianca and Holly are now freaking out about their child’s coming of age trip.

Just last night, my friend whose 18-year-old son is in Thailand with 15 others, said she and the other mums had been panic What’sApping their kids.

At the end of the day we can’t wrap them in cotton wool for life, that’s no way to live.

And so all you can do is have the talk, wave them off with a smile and just pray they come home safe.

Originally published as This is every parents’ worst nightmare but we have to let them go