A PARENT has split opinion by stopping her teenage daughter from flying away for a holiday all by herself.
The mother was conflicted when family members pressured her into allowing the 14-year-old to fly solo to visit her grandparents in Spain, so she sought advice from others online.
GettyThe mum thought 14 was too young for her daughter to fly alone (stock image)[/caption]
She said that her own mother would be in the Mediterranean hotspot for a holiday of her own and wanted her grandchildren to visit.
However, she had used all her work holiday allowance, so is unable to fly with her daughter.
The mother explained the situation to Mumsnet and asked if she was being unreasonable by preventing her daughter from going alone.
She wrote: “My mum is going to Spain this autumn for 2 months. She has done this a few times and usually I have gone over alone to visit for a few days or have brought my children.
“This year we have had lots of trips (Covid backlog) and with the children, I have been on a 4 night city break with my mum and the grandchildren (I paid).
“I can’t go to Spain this year as I am short on holidays and have a couple of weddings etc towards the end of the year that require holidays and money.
“My mum is adamant that I send my children alone on a flight over to see her.
“My son is 10 so it’s not even an option as they wouldn’t take him and my daughter is 14 but I wouldn’t be at all comfortable sending her through an airport alone.
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“My mum is fuming – I am ruining her break, ruining it for the children etc.
“She is a very dedicated granny and the children love her so am I being unreasonable for not allowing my children to travel?”
Some argued that the daughter would be fine travelling by herself and that airports are relatively safe places to be.
One said: “I did it at that age when there was a lot less communication available than there is now.
“You can check her in and go with her up to security then tell her to keep watch for the gate number and go to the gate as soon as it says you can not leave it to the last minute.
“As long as she does that there is very little that can go wrong and she can always call/face time/send pics of the departures board so you can make sure she is in the right place at the right time.”
Another user accused the mother of mollycoddling her daughter by not letting her take the trip.
They wrote: “It will be fine. She’s 14. Hardly a young child.
“I went to Amsterdam with friends on our own for 2 weeks when were just 16 by bus and ferry. It was brilliant.”
Others however were more sympathetic and said the grandmother was the one being unreasonable.
One said she sounded “horrific”.
They wrote: “Your mother sounds horrific…no means no for your daughter travelling alone…jeez what’s wrong with people to not listen.”
This woman also divided opinion after a flight with her seat cleaning routine.
Meanwhile, this man refused to move from the window seat despite someone else paying for it.
GettyThe girl’s grandmother said her holiday was ruined because her grandkids couldn’t visit (stock image)[/caption] Read More