what age???

[chelseaX1990]

My daughter has jus turned 15 and wants to go away to tenerife with her 16 year ol best friend,but..without any parents do you now what age they have to be to fly or even go abroud on their own???

thanks.

angela xxx

[gazzawazza]

It all depends on the airline, some have a minimum age limit of 14, but surely, you're not actually thinking of letting her go on her own with her friend???

[chelseaX1990]

Well its for her birthday and she needs to get away you see, two of her good friends recently died in a car crash,she fell pregnant and had a miscaridge so on....she just wants to have a good time.

angela xxx

[the>one]

 sorry angela.....speaking as a family man and also a man who goes on holiday with his mates i wouldn't even consider letting her go at such a young age!!!...i know she's had a hard time but c'mon support her or take her away yourself...she's just a child!!

[chelseaX1990]

i trust my daughter,and i have spoken to her tonight and she has told me there is about 6 of them going and i trust her we,me and my partner,alson know the man and his wife who run the appartment she is renting out.

is tenerife a bad choice?

angela xxxx

[delilahcat]

This IS a wind-up, isn't it???!!

[shehin]

Recently in the press we've seen mothers in trouble for leaving their children alone while they've gone off on holiday - you seem to be doing the same thing but in reverse.

Take her on a family holiday.

[chelseaX1990]

no its not a wind up i trust her she is going with friends and stayin with people we know dont know what the problem is...and if your trying to say im a bad mother your wrong,my daughter is a smart and safe girl,and may i add is very responsible.

[Immortal298]

um, i hate to sound like a total bitch here, but if your daughter were that responsible, she wouldnt have gotten pregnant at fourteen or fifteen or whatever.  fifteen year old girls are technincally still children and there is no way they should be allowed to go on holiday on their own.  if it were with her friend and her parents it would be different.  but from what i hear, this isnt the case. 

[jno]

I also think 15 is too young (too young to be getting pregnant too, but that's water under the bridge). I think you're responsible for her till she's 16, and while this needn't mean never letting her out of your sight, it doesn't include letting her travel aboard without adults around. After all, what would happen if something went wrong there - say she was involved in a car crash of her own (even if not her fault in any way), who'd be there to take responsibilty for sorting it out?

I'd say wait another year at least.

[Champagne]

Just turned 15? *tut tut tut*

I'm praying that this is just a bad joke.

[gazzawazza]

Angela, I have daughters of my own, aged 19, 17 and 15, and believe me, no matter how responsible they might have seemed at 15, and no matter how responsible they themselves think they are, they are still children at that age.

She has obviously had a difficult time recently and it may seem like that is what wants, but what she really needs is the love of a strong parent who is there for her right now  to help her through this, not pack her off for someone else to look after.  Sorry if this sounds a bit strong, but that is exactly what it sounds like.  What will happen if she gets a bit down while she's away (as girls who go away from home without parents invariably do?)  Can you really rely on the girls she's with to look after her properly?  We have taken our daughters' friends with us on holidays and even best friends have fall-outs or times when they're depressed/wishing they hadn't came.  Believe me, if best friends and concerned adults (ie us) can't help then what good will teenage girls be when they realise they can't do anything for her?  Will they take serious time out from their holiday to really care for her and look after her, will they insist she just tags along with them and tell her to cheer up or will they just dump her and leave her to sort herself out?

I haven't even mentioned the problems of an impressionable young girl being abroad without parental guidance yet... that is too bad to even contemplate considering what your daughter has gone through recently.  Do what is right and take her away yourself (with a friend if necessary).

[mycatis]

chelseaX1990 I can understand why people are freaking out a bit here but to be honest I left home at 14, got pregnant at 15 (and also had a miscarriage) and my best friend was killed in a car crash when I was 16 so I totally understand what your daughter is going through and if she is staying with friends of yours then it would probably be ok.  Please let her know that things will get better no matter how bad she might feel just now x x God it's like reading about my own life, weird.

[chelseaX1990]

thank you,your probably the only person who hasn't critisised me on this site,thank you for that.

angela xxx

[Ding-Dong]

You've been crtiticised because you are being irresponsible. Your daughter has 'just' turned 15, and she's already been pregnant once. Where is her guidance coming from?

You are now sanctioning her going away on a foreign holiday with a few mates - she is a child, and needs to be dealt with as such.

To become pregnant at 14 is neither 'smart' or 'responsible' - at least in the UK you can keep an eye on her (not that that stopped her becoming pregnant first time round), but you will not have a clue what she is getting up to abroad.

You won't like these comments but, frankly, I couldn't care less - I am staggered you even felt the need to pose the question.

Unbelievable.

[libertie]

Having just returned from Rhodes and witnessed the shenanagins of some British teenagers I don't think I would be letting her jet off on holiday 'til she's at least 30!!

[Grunty]

Just in case you didn't get what Ding-Dong said, here it is again.

You've been crtiticised because you are being irresponsible. Your daughter has 'just' turned 15, and she's already been pregnant once. Where is her guidance coming from?

You are now sanctioning her going away on a foreign holiday with a few mates - she is a child, and needs to be dealt with as such.

To become pregnant at 14 is neither 'smart' or 'responsible' - at least in the UK you can keep an eye on her (not that that stopped her becoming pregnant first time round), but you will not have a clue what she is getting up to abroad.

You won't like these comments but, frankly, I couldn't care less - I am staggered you even felt the need to pose the question.

Unbelievable.



 

    


  
 


 

[jno]

chelsea I didn't criticise you, and I sympathise with your daughter, who has been through an appalling time; but I still think at 15 she shouldn't be away on her own without adults. mycatis' case is slightly different since she had left home; but while your daughter is still with you, I believe it would be better if you were with her on holidays.

[lahdeedah]

This may just be a misunderstanding on my part but it almost seems that 'Chelsea' is posting the question and not 'Angela' just due to the language and ofcourse the username chelseaX1990-which would make you 15 right? Sorry if this isn't the case, just posed a question in my mind.

[chelseaX1990]

actualy for a fact chelsea is my screen name so if you lot do not want to help me with my dilema then please keep your comments to yourself. ok.

angela

[joannalaura]

Hi Chelsea, I agree with a lot of the answers on this page, that the information given suggests that your daughter is not as sensible as you would think however, I am in no position to tell you how to bring up your child.

One thing I would pick up on  though, is that at 15, if, God forbid, anything were to happen to her or one of her friends on holiday, she (as a minor) would be helpless to do anything about it from a legal perspective re. police/hospitals/insurance etc.

There are many aspects of the holiday that she would be perfectly capable of dealing with and she may well have a great time without incident however, in case of emergency, would you be able to forgive yourself if something happened and she was put in a situation she was unable to deal with?

There are some crappy people out there (not Tenerife specifically, just the world in general). As you said, she has already been through a lot, please don't put her at risk for the sake of a 'good time'.

If she is a sensible girl, she will understand the above - I hope that it is clear that I am not on a moral soapbox, but am just thinking of practicalities and your daughter's safety.