The worse thing you can do to your child is to not let him/her expand their wings and fly. |
Because she is alone and it is not safe for women (and men) to be alone. It would be nice if her ex could say... she has a phone, I went with her to work the 1st day, something..... Pretending it is okay for a girl to be off alone is not safe. I have exchange students from all over stay with me... they do not get a bus pass and I send them on their merry way. They are taught how to be safe, how to avoid trouble areas, troubled people, to stay in groups or well light areas, when it is not safe to walk home from metro, to call, don't take Uber alone unless you have your phone ready, etc I doubt her H is being diligent since most people on this site seem to be so incredibly ignorant to basic safety.... like while in FLA don't wade in the water. |
There's every reason to think the girl's father knows the city well and can guide her on areas to avoid. He even introduced her to kids her own age so these are people he seems to know (probably the children of his friends). OP is complaining that she doesn't know these kids in Poland. Well why should she?! I can't imagine complaining that I haven't met the Polish kids my daughter met in Poland while I was sitting in my kitchen in Bethesda (or wherever). It's ridiculous to think she can't take a bus by herself. She's not going to be dragged off the bus by human traffickers. |
I studied abroad for three months in HS at age 15. It was during the first war in the Persian Gulf. It was an amazing experience. I learned independence, self-reliance, bravery, and humility. Your daughter will be fine and may even come home a better person. |
Great that Warsaw is considered safer. I would bet it's even safer than many American cities. I do however stand by my statement "No matter how responsible and intelligent a 17 year old 'young woman' is she lacks the practical experience of someone 10+ years older and is absolutely more vulnerable to those who would do her harm." |
Most 17-year-olds survive to their 18th birthday, even in Europe. Most don't need a full-time escort. |
Is there one sock-puppet on this thread (OP maybe?) who thinks that Warsaw is so dangerously unsafe with rapists and human traffickers that the girl shouldn't be riding a bus unescorted? |
You're not in Kansas anymore . . . Lions and tigers and bears! |
OMG you are completely ridiculous. The girl is staying with her father for the summer. She is presumably home every night. She has a job. She has a bus pass. She and her father walk to the bus stop together every morning. She is in a major European city with a well developed public transit system. She's getting her own friends. Just what sort of support do you envisage her father providing that he isn't right now? Should he accompany her to her job and watch her punch in? Personally interview everyone he hangs out with? What do you mean it's not safe for a girl to be alone? Like, anywhere any time? Do you not see girls and women walking alone in DC all the time? What country are you from that you don't think it's not safe for her to be alone? |
She is staying WITH HER FATHER. That she is in a large city is a safety factor, not a threat factor. What do you want her to do? Hourly check-ins? |
OK so she has a job. Near her father's job. They leave the house together every morning and he drops her off at the bus stop. Right? And she goes out with other teens after work? This is what is making you apoplectic? You are a ridiculous human being. |
So clearly, you think the solution is that young women aren't allowed to go alone or travel before age 27? That's the gist of it? |
Seriously. I want to find a way to contact OP's daughter, send her this thread, and tell her to stay in Poland for her senior year. |
Also, OP, your subject line is a dead giveaway.
You didn't title this thread "worried about daughter's safety" and place it in the "Tweens and Teens" section. You titled it "so mad at Ex right now" and put in the relationships section. You hate him so much you'll grasp at ANYTHING, no matter how ridiculous, to get angry about. Learn to co-parent and leave your daughter out of your resentment toward your Ex. |
OP, why don't you find a nice thing to do for yourself this summer. Maybe go on a trip or take a class. It is unhealthy to sit at home worrying about your daughter on another continent because she's riding a bus and talking to people you haven't met. She might even have a *gasp* boyfriend.
Even if you feel she is young and naive, she will become a much stronger and confident person by the end of the summer because she has been given freedom to make her own daily choices. This is likely something she has never had before. She has met some friends there to guide her so she won't make too many mistakes but she needs to have control to make her own decisions. It is an extremely important life skill. |