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Are the skies friendly enough for The Kid to fly alone?
Who doesn’t want their kid to be adventurous?
We want our young man to brave his new world, make it bigger, and try new things. He's turning 14 years old in a few weeks.
We want him to actually visit family – in other states – for extended periods of time: a week, a summer month, a holiday - without us along.
It's all good stuff – he should spread his wings.
.
Only, should he spread his wings alone – that is – fly solo?
Independent Traveler.com , basically tells a horror story of a child flying unaccompanied by an adult.(There is a happy ending) The article goes on to give advice and some things to consider when booking a flight.
Just about every commercial airline website addresses the issue of a minor flying solo. They post their policies and provide tips.
There are websites, such as Forms4Parents.com where I can purchase a form and fill it in with detailed information. I can include instructions, identification and contact information.Then I can tuck the paperwork into The Kid’s pocket and keep my fingers crossed.
I can pack him off with a cell phone.
I know, I know, but this is also an emotional decision.
Do I hop on the plane and fly out with him and at the end of the visit, go out and come back with him?
Maybe I just ought to let him visit family via Facebook, from the safety of our own home.
Gretchen Day-Bryant has a son in high school and a daughter in middle school. She’s lived to tell about the struggles of juggling little kids and work...
Joy Oglesby has an infant daughter and a sister 13 years her junior, whom she babies to the now-adult...
Cindy Kent Fort Lauderdale mother of three. Her kids span in ages from teenager to 20s...
Rafael Olmeda and his wife welcomed their first son in Feb. 2009, and he's helping raise two teenage stepdaughters...
Lois Solomon lives in Boca Raton with her husband and three daughters...
Anne Vasquez is the Online Editor in charge of overseeing SunSentinel.com. She is the mother of a 5-year-old boy and a newborn daughter.
Georgia East is the parent of a five-year-old girl, who came into the world weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces...
Brittany Wallman is the mother of Creed, 13, and Lily, 6, and is married...
Chris Tiedje is the Social Media Coordinator, and father of two boys and a girl all under the age of seven.
Comments
This kid is virtually an adult.... My first child is now 17 and he's been flying SOLO since the age of 5, yest they go unaccompanied minor, but the flight attendant still have a job to do. Now a days my other two kids Jaz & Jova fly alone as well.
They spend last summer in CONNECTICUT, some days with dad some days with family members. Although a 2 1/2 hour flight took them 12 huors due to severe weather, emergency landing, staying at a NC airport waiting for another fly crew. All my preparation could not have prepared me or them for this ordeal. But thanks to me and the way I always teach them that one day I may not be here and so they do lots of things that I have thought them throught the years. They cook, clean, do laundry, pick up their room and help with other chores as needed from the time they are 5. This has helped them be more independent.
Plus, I didn't have kids to be a SLAVE... They are seld sufficient and if ever something was to happen to me, they would be well off into this world with all the tools in hand.
Posted by: dna | March 12, 2009 3:12 PM