Jill, I guess I will be one of the few dissenting voices here. I don't think it's a good idea and it sounds like you don't either.
this child is ONLY 14 YEARS OLD!!! I think some of us are giving him a year or more than he really has. My daughter will be 14 in july and there is no WAY she could gallavant around Disney alone.
I WOULD NEVER consent to letting my child make these kinds of trips at those ages. I'm glad that you came through unscathed.
And it is quite obvious that you are still very young and have no teen-aged children yourself. I bet your perspective will change when you have a 14 year old to be responsible for.
This is not actually accurate. I'm not the Bev
Originally posted by beansmom
How dare you muddy my waters with facts???
What part of Texas, Bev?
I tell you, that my parents even considered letting me drive at that age. I never had an accident though. This stement shows a terrible lack of life experience and maturity on your part. You have no idea the things I am responsible for or where my perspective comes from, the same as I have no idea where your ideas and perspective come from.
I stand behind this wholeheartedly. As Mark Twain said "when I was 14, my father was so ignorant, I could barely stand to be in the same room with him. When I was 21, I was amazed at how much the old man had learned." No, sir/madam, a 14/15 year old DOES not have the life experience, foresight and judgment (a byproduct of the life experience) to make 'adult' decisions. They may possess the intellect--and many do---but they really don't know it all. When you are 14, you meet a girl/boy..they're cute and you give them a smooch. You don't stop to think (like you MIGHT) at age 30, that the kiss will lead to other things, those things might not be very pleasant (Aids, stalking, marriage/divorce) and you might be done irreparable harm by them and you might just better pass because you really don't want to be married to an unemployed alcoholic who picks his teeth with a guitar pick for the rest of your life because his only skill is playing 'Dixie' on a comb and tissue paper.
Let me also say that I know plenty of 30 (and 40) year olds that act like they just fell off the turnip truck, too.Darling, I assure you I've been around your block, way more than once. While I admit that I have no personal information about you, it's an accepted theory that gaining age and life experience enables a person to make better decisions. Hence, you have to be 18 to get married, 21 to drink in some places, 35 to be president. You have to be a certain age to hold certain jobs because of the danger of them. AND having children changes your perspective on what you think is okay for them to do. When I was 16 and 'in love' (for, oh, about the fifth time) I would have thought it was perfectly okay for my bf to spend to night on the couch at our house. NOW, however, I consider that idea to be totally unacceptable (for both my daughter and myself). It was perfectly okay for ME to smoke a little pot when I was 18 but I don't think that my 23, 21 or 13 year old should EVER do it. Because I now know what smoking a little dope COULD lead to for some people. I smoked cigs when I was young---don't want my kids to ever smoke--but it was cool and okay for me.
As for this (and I swear, after this I'm gonna shut up), no known serial killer put a fake cast on and asked college girls to help him load his skis or whatever into his car until Ted Bundy tried it. But, there is a first time for everything.
To be fair, I was asked a question so I can answer: Yes, I do think about someone coming in (lindbergh baby) and taking her. It's happened to other children. So, we use a little common sense and keep her window shut and locked. We also keep the drapes closed at night so that someone can't just look in and see that there is a 13 year old female sleeping alone in the room. I do allow her to use her adjoining bathroom without an escort. But I do ask her to walk to the school bus stop with a friend and wait with the group.
Again, I'm sure your perspective will change when you have parenting experience of your own. I am going to assume that you are male because if you were female, you would understand that generally speaking, men are much stronger physically and most can easily out-muscle a woman smaller or their same size. Even my scrawny ex-h was stronger than me. No, a 14 year old, especially a female, cannot remove themselves from ANY dangerous situation. And if that were the case, then how come the bodies of many young, healthy teenage boys were found buried under John Wayne Gacy's house and found in Jeffrey Dahmer's apartment? And, then, where is Elizabeth Smart? Laci Peterson? Elizabeth Smart was raised in a very well-to-do, 'proper' Mormon home by all appearances-surely she should have been able to remove herself. And Laci Peterson is a grown woman just out walking her dog, minding her own business. Even strapping, healhty teenage boys are no physical match for an assailant wielding a gun. Oh, and I was 19 when a friend of my boyfriend's dragged me off to a room and tried to rape me. Thank Goodness he was dumb enough to let go long enough to answer the phone.
