A GAP year abroad is not the done thing here, but common in Western countries.

After you finish school or university, it is an opportunity to widen horizons, meet new people, work a little and enjoy yourself before you get back home to the serious matter of a job.

I feel parents should encourage their children to do this. Many Singapore children may not have washed a cup in their life or made a bed.

For them, a gap year can be useful.

It takes a lot of planning and is all about attitude and learning to be independent and making decisions.

My elder daughter, Shartyn, had worked part-time in the UK from age 16 to supplement her Uni life and her keep.

Then she decided to go for a gap year in Australia, and set off with our blessings and a hongbao.

Over the next 12 months, we read hundreds of e-mails about her escapades. We were enthralled with her jobs and experiences, delighted with the pictures she sent. We remained calm, assured that she was safe, learning a lot about life and enjoying herself.

Her first stop was in Perth. Two days later, ensconced in shared accommodation, she landed her first job as a cashier in a fruit and veg mart.

She loved it - the easy-going Aussie way, sunshine and lots of fruit to eat, and the money, she said, was good.

She made two friends - a Canadian and an Indian girl. They were together for the best part of her gap year.

They crossed the Nullarbor to Adelaide getting their first taste of the outback. They enjoyed the beauty of the Barossa Valley, slogging in the wineries.

Next stop was Melbourne, where she enjoyed the theatres and the many gigs.

In Sydney, the partying never stopped. Bondi Beach was 'brill'.

On to Surfers Paradise, where she had two job offers in a day. She took both - one that finished at 2pm and other from 7pm pulling pints.

Her bank account swelled.

Farther north, on the way to Cairns, she lived and worked on a farm. Simple accommodation, good food, fair wages and 'sweating and smelling of a horse'.

Her last e-mail, before leaving Darwin for home, said: '...much love and thanks, mum and dad. It has been an incredible journey. I have seen it, done it and got the T-shirt. Looking forward to coming home to chill a bit... and then... er... find a job.'

She returned more self-assured, mature and oozing with self confidence. As well as more or less the same money she had when she left.

So, if you have the yearning to get up and go, then go somewhere, anywhere.