It happens every year. You see the newscasts. A beautiful young American girl celebrating her graduation from high school on a trip to a tropical island with her friends has been abducted. Hopeful please from her parents are aired daily on national television every night until the final newscast, weeks later, when we hear that her body has been found on a beach somewhere. The full scholarship that she had to a Big Ten college will now seed a memorial scholarship fund. The life that had only just begun, that showed such promise, has ended. Don’t let this be your child.

Don't be Naive

Few Americans realize that the rest of the world is not as safe for their children as our country is. “Oh, sure” you say, “but I’m sending my kid to a resort in Aruba, not some war-torn Baltic state!” I’m here to tell you that it just doesn’t matter. Too often, we forget that resorts abroad still carry their own risks. We make the mistake of believing that sending our young adults to a resort on an island that depends on tourism is as safe as sending them down the street for a newspaper. Unfortunately that just is not true. Following are a few things you should discuss with your child before you send them on that celebratory graduation trip to a special paradise.

Accept Your Share of the Responsibility

Discuss the people involved in the trip, both known and unknown. Will there be chaperones? If so, how many and how much will they actually be chaperoning? Who are the chaperones? Make sure that you know them and feel safe with them supervising your child. Where will your child be staying? Will it be a hotel, hostel, barracks, campground or beach? How secure will their sleeping quarters be? How many people will have access to their quarters and inevitably their belongings?