Have you/Would you let your children fly alone?

[Anonymous]

The 13 year old on a direct flight. Sure, but my concern would be covid. 10 year old, not sure. We did fly all the time to grandparents but different time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The 13 year old on a direct flight. Sure, but my concern would be covid. 10 year old, not sure. We did fly all the time to grandparents but different time.

Different time how? Things are almost certainly safer now than whenever you were flying those flights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the immediate pp. I also remember being on a plane in my teens and there was a 6 year old UM who sobbed the whole time. Passengers were trying to help since the flight attendants couldn’t sit with her, but it was heartbreaking. Another reason I won’t let my kids fly alone. They may not always tell you how they felt on the plane. I didn’t tell my parents how I felt about it; rather I internalized it.

This right here. Sorry, Pp.

Sending kid alone might be super convenient for parents but likely not in best interest of child. And they’ll likely not tell you about their fears or negative experiences. I honestly don’t understand the parents that do this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At 10 and 13, yes I would do this. Especially together.

Younger than 10, no I don't think so. I also don't take the whole idea that because people did this in the 80s and 90s that it's ok today. Airline travel was completely different in the 80s and no one really cared if kids felt emotionally ready to do things and damn are we seeing that now! Ask Gen X how their anxiety is treating them.

I mean, I’m Gen X, and flew in the 80s internationally alone starting at age 8 and I don’t have anxiety. And no one could meet me at the gate at my destination because I had to clear customs alone with my suitcase. Even though I was an unaccompanied minor and had a badge, the airline people couldn’t escort me through that either.

That said, with flights and such the way they are and cancellations and all, I’m personally hesitant to allow my 12 year old to fly solo. I feel like the COVID years caused us to miss out on the formative years of flying as a family and her learning how to navigate airports and such. I mean, I was sitting in the airport myself recently at 6am when I got a message my much later in the day in a different time zone flight was already canceled. If it had happened about 10 minutes later I would have had my phone in airplane mode and wouldn’t have seen the message for 5 hours and likely been blocked out of rescheduling at that point. I would have been fine, but what would my kid have done in a similar scenario, arriving to find no connecting flight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At 10 and 13 for a nonstop flight and if i had no concerns about grandparents I would do it.

+1 you know your kids and what they’re capable of, but for the average kids of those age, I would have no problem with this. They’re together and 13 year olds can babysit-they can certainly find a gate and board and airplane

[Anonymous]

Yes for a nonstop flight