It came as no surprise that after travelling with the family for years, the kids starting venture off into the world by themselves. Here’s how that unfolded in our family.
At 12 our oldest went to Europe to set a Guiness World Record in The Netherlands with a dance group, at 14 she flew to the British Virgin Islands to live on a sailboat for a month, at 16 she started to fly back and forth from Guatemala to Canada alone. At 17 she left to live, work, and travel in Europe for a year before college. Travelling and living in other cultures is a major interest.
Our middle daughter hasn’t been as eager to venture out on her own, which is fine with us–less time for us to be glued to on-line flight trackers. At 14 she was ready to fly alone from Guatemala to Canada and then to Spain. She was nervous about doing so, but wanted to spend the summer with her older sister in Europe. She had to step out of her comfort zone to make it happen. Now she is confident that she can fly solo internationally, and wouldn’t hesistate to do it again.
Our youngest did her first solo trip when she was seven. We knew she would have no trouble flying alone, as was clearly indicated by this conversation. I asked her, “Would you be willing to fly alone to visit Grandma and Grandpa?” She paused and was clearly thinking it over, which surprised me. When she did respond she said definitively, “Yes, yes I can do it. But someone will have to teach me how to fly the plane.” She thought alone meant she would be the only one on board. We already know from her personality, that she was born to travel solo…and it wouldn’t surprise us if she was flying her own plane someday.
Some reminders I gave the girls:
- Recheck your gate even after you get your boarding pass. Gates can be reassigned and you may or may not hear the announcement.
- When getting up to go to the bathroom on the plane, make sure to take wallet and passport with her, they are not leave them in your bag under the seat. We always have the girls put their cash, cards, and passports in a small purse they can wear over their shoulder when they go to the bathroom. We had to replace a passport in Europe once, a process to avoid.
- If a flight gets cancelled and she gets stranded overnight in the airport (this happened to our oldest daughter in Atlanta, Georgia) connect with other young women who are also stranded–the company helps. Make sure she is sleeping on her carry on bag in some way, so it doesn’t walk away. If the airline is providing hotel money for the passengers, have her send the information your way, of where she is staying.
Make sure whoever is picking her up on the other end sends a confirmaton as soon as possible. You will be waiting from the moment the plane lands on the flight tracker, to the phone call confirmation tnat she is safely with the person who is picking her up. Then you can breathe a sigh of relief, at least until she goes off travelling on her own again.
