How important is parental approval for your RTW trip?

Most of us know what it’s like to tell family and friends about an upcoming trip and have someone among them say, “What do you want to do that for?” Thankfully, it’s usually something you can shrug off as fear of the unknown. Sure, travel is at the core of your being, and you can’t imagine not wanting to explore the world – but you also recognize that not everyone shares that feeling. But what if your parents are outright unsupportive?

BootsnAll member Kathryn M has been planning her RTW trip for quite some time now, and she’s just under two months away from setting off on her grand adventure. Unfortunately, not only does her mother not approve of the trip, she’s actually been telling Kathryn that she’s “going to die during [her] RTW.” Talk about a buzz kill.

This isn’t Mothers intuition or anything, just her being as pessimistic as possible. I keep telling her that I have almost as much chance of dying walking to work everyday as I do during this trip.

I just don’t know what to say to her any more to reassure her.

Most of the commenters so far have chimed in with words of encouragement, saying that while she probably won’t change her mom’s mind, Kathryn should know she’s in good company. A couple people have said that probably the only thing she can do to change her mother’s mind is come back alive! One person is noting that it’s nice to have a mother who cares enough to worry about her.

How do you deal with parental disapproval of your travel plans? Do you leave out any potentially dangerous-sounding destinations when talking to them? Do you think parental attitudes are defined by whether or not they are travelers themselves? You can contribute to the discussion on the BootsnAll boards and let Kathryn know what you think.