friend ruining trip

You should have sent him home.
A few years ago I took 7 16 year olds & a 14 year old for an overnight trip to Kings Island. We drove from Metro Detroit to Cincinnati (I drove). Except for being a little noisy at night (they quieted down when I asked them to), they gave me no trouble at all. This was a mixed group of girls & boys. We had connecting rooms, they didn't try to sneak into the others room or anything. Their parents were done proud by their children's behavior. I am sorry you had such a poor experience.
 
OP, I'm so sorry this happened to your family & your DS. It's so awful to be excited about a trip & have someone ruin it for you. We had very close friends go with us to VWL for 8 days over Easter last year and things have never been the same between us. A year & a half planning the trip of a lifetime, only to lose a friendship over it. I will say that traveling with others is a very intimate relationship, and if all the stars don't align it can really be tough.:hug:
 
Good for your son that he no longer cares for a friend of that caliber. It took me many, many years of suffering through bad friends and poor friendships to figure out what my boundaries were. Your son sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders!
 
Wow.:eek: I'm so sorry you son had to learn about who his "friend" truly was that way.

I am in awe of your restraint in not bringing down the hammer, locking that phone up, tossing the cigars and calling his parents laying it out. Apparently his parents don't know how to command respect and haven't taught him to have it. That kid is in for a rude awakening if and when mommy and daddy cut the cord. Though something tells me, they'll bail him out of any mess he WILL get himself into.

I'm glad your vacation ended well but I'm SO sorry it had that start. :guilty:
 

That is a long time to spend in one room(?) with your own teenagers. I know because we have taken ours on several trips out West and to Disney.

Our most relaxing trip was this past year when we went on a cruise and our daughter and her friend had their own cabin. Of course that isn't Disney.

It is possible the boy's parents may not know about the cigars and that he packed them.
 
Thank you so much to all you disers, you sure have made me feel better. When I asked my son about his friend having cigars he told me that his Mom bought them for him, I'm not sure if I believe that as he could just be telling my son that. As for the safe, he went in there to get extra $ once and I asked him how he knew what the code was, his reply "oh I just looked over your shoulder when you where coding it in, needless to say we changed it.
I will admit I am a bit nervous to see his Mom at our first hockey game as I might have a hard time not telling her some of the stuff I put up with.
I am very proud of my son for the way he handled things, he has realized that he thinks this friend is not someone he really can call a friend and they haven't hung out since we got back.
lilwhiterabbit, I do have quite a relaxed parentening style, the only rule we had was that they couldn't text after we all went to bed as the light from the phone disturbs everyone.
 
When I was teenager,I think I always behved better at my friend's house.Ya know always saying please and thank you, in general being respectful. I don't know how close of a friend this is but maybe a meeting beforehand with kid and parents would have been good to establish your rules while on an expensive vacation that you were paying for! Thanks for sharing ur story,I know I will think twice before having friends come w/us.
 
I will admit I am a bit nervous to see his Mom at our first hockey game as I might have a hard time not telling her some of the stuff I put up with.

Boy. I can understand being nervous. I would be too. I'm so anti-confrontation.;) I usually sick my DH on someone. :laughing: As a parent, I would want to know if my DS was being a pain in the rump. They may not care. :confused3 Maybe you can write a letter? It might be easier to address that way. IF you want to address it at all. I can understand wanting to leave that one alone and moving on too. Tough call. I don't envy your postion. :laundy::rolleyes:

HUGS! :hug:
 
I completely understand. When I was sixteen(in the 1990's), my mom allowed me to take a friend and it was all expenses paid by my mom. The friend (also a 16 yr old girl at the time) , apparently had gotten homesick and began crying all the time by the 2nd day and refused to leave the room (at the Polynesian) She also was apparently a underage smoker, which we did not know before leaving, but that really wasn't the problem, it was that she told us after we had already gotten there, she really had never been away from home only 24hrs and could not handle being "away" .Needless to say, we drove her to the airport and sent her home early(her wishes of course). I never spoke to her again. I resented the fact that she begged me to pick her to go on our trip(I had other friends that could have gone at the time) and attempted to ruin it. My mom asked my older brother and his childhood friend(in their 20's at the time, not teenagers) who was like a big brother to me to come and fly into Orlando and help us finish our trip. They did and they were way, way, way more fun, polite, and less whiny than she was. So, what I learned is you are always taking a huge risk when considering letting your teenager take a friend. You will learn from this and never make that mistake again. I'm sure there are nice teenage friends out there somewhere that don't ruin vacations, but I never knew of any or cared to gamble with that again. I have a dh and 3 kids of our own and when they get older, no "friends" will be with us on our trips due to my miserable experience with that as a teenager.;)
 
Amen for that at least you ended on a good note :thumbsup2
Your sons friend was inconsiderate and rude, maybe its a blessing that your son doesn't hang around him anymore :)

Amen!!:rolleyes1
 
Uggh... How horrible for you! Your son is better off without him as a friend... And, while you are at hockey practice-- you need to mention to the mom about the smoking. I'm sure he's already put a "big spin" on the vacation with his mom so I wouldn't feel too bad about spilling the beans on the smoking. And, as a mom -- if my child was smoking then I would definitely want to know!!!
 
Wow - I cannot believe his mom's response. If that were my child - I would be livid (and embarrassed by my child's behavior). I am so sorry you had to deal with all of that... I think this is the reason I don't invite my kid's friends to vacation with us. Your son has handled it all so well.

I agree with some of the other posters and would've shipped him home.

:hug:
 
Well, consider it a blessing that your son no longer associates with that spoiled troublemaker, and move on. I think that you are very well equipped to deal with anything the ex-friend's mother might have to say. Congrats, you rose above a very trying situation.
 
Oh man... you sure are a saint :worship:! Honestly? I would've sent him home with the lack of respect he gave and yes the extra charges for that would be his parents problem. The smoking would've probably have been the final straw and he would've crossed the line with me.... that's not even legal at his age! I applaud your son because of his right choices and it sounds like he has "his head on straight." So sad to hear the first portion of the trip was a drag but at least you didn't have him the whole time :)!
 
OP, I'm so sorry this happened to your family & your DS. It's so awful to be excited about a trip & have someone ruin it for you. We had very close friends go with us to VWL for 8 days over Easter last year and things have never been the same between us. A year & a half planning the trip of a lifetime, only to lose a friendship over it. I will say that traveling with others is a very intimate relationship, and if all the stars don't align it can really be tough.:hug:



AMEN to that.:)
 
I would have taken that (Y(^*^&%&^ phone of his right before bedtime and LOCKED IT UP IN THE SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGH!

This kid sounds like a spoiled BRAT!!!!!!!!!!! And he's smoking at what, 13??

Brunette:scared1:

Me too!!!! And the second thing that would have gone in the safe (and then the trash as we were leaving the room the next day) would have been the cigars!

It is ilegal for a 16 year old to smoke, is it not? I mean, if he had brought a bottle of Jack Daniels, you would have taken that away I assume?

I would have then, on Day 2, called his sorry excuse for a mother, listed everything and every rule the little punk had broken, and informed her that if he attempted any of it again, his a** would have been on the next plane home - at her expense.

I am so sorry you had to put up with this - it sounds just miserable. Hockey or no hockey - my advice is to dump this kid and the "parent" asap.
 
wow OP, so sorry about all this. I know how you feel. I've had that kind of experience before with our godson, not as bad as yours since yours was with a teen and ours a preteen but I know how you feel. He does not have stellar parents and an unhappy home life so we try to take him as much as we can and we pay for everything, absolutely everything but he can be so demanding and ungrateful sometimes that this summer I felt horrible but I had to send him home the last month he was here:headache:. I just couldn't take it anymore. So I'm really sorry, the good thing is you guys were able to salvage your vacation with your family and your son finally enjoyed himself!!!
 
Does his mom have any idea that he is smoking?

If they think he makes good decisions, it makes me wonder if they actually know about the decisions he is making. Maybe he acts more responsible around them, so they would be more inclined to think you just set some crazy rules. He's 16, it's generally safe to assume he has secrets from his parents. I don't even know how to handle that one, but if there is ever a good time or opening in conversation to mention it- I think whether they are aware of the cigars would be a question worth asking.

mistysue: You said exactly what I was thinking. How does OP know that this kid isn't lying to his parents AND to OP's son? His mom now thinks OP is the problem and may have NO idea what her son was pulling on this vacation. I hate confrontation too but what if his parents don't know he's smoking? Wouldn't you want to know about your child's behavior when he isn't around you? At 16 this boy may be starting secret behaviors that will damage his future.

OP, could it be that since you don't like confrontation he may have already pegged you as a pushover - sorry but it sounds like he had that figured out. I think it's VERY REVEALING that he behaved one way at your home for all these years and then suddenly, out of nowhere, on a trip AWAY from his family he pulls this behavior. And he HAS gotten away with it since you didn't give ANY details to his parents during this 10 day trip, nor after it. Being so vague with his mom has not helped anyone in this situation. She may have NO clue what went on. And he is counting on you not speaking up. The longer you keep your silence, the more he can bad mouth you since his mom is only hearing his "story" (ie: possible lies).

Also, did you wonder why your son didn't know his friend smoked cigars until this trip? Usually a teenager would have already bragged to his friends about his parents allowing him to do something forbidden. It makes it seem like he took them on this trip secretly.

Side note: Why aren't the fathers involved in this parenting issue? I would think your husband calling his father would get to the heart of the matter. Even if the boys know each other through school and the moms, I would still have my husband call his dad under those circumstances. Unless there are no fathers in both families. A 16 yr old boy may have his mom wrapped around his little finger, but maybe not his dad.

If you or DH had gotten on the phone to his parents during the trip and said: "Do you allow (johnny) to do this because that's what is going on right now and we certainly don't allow that" there may have been a completely different outcome to the trip.

At this point I would clear the air and just casually ask "So when did your son start smoking cigars? It was a real shock to us." Just her reaction to that one question will tell you whether she knows about this or is shocked to hear it. You could then continue: "You know, we really didn't appreciate him trying to influence our 12/13 year old to try smoking on our trip." She may be very embarrassed and/or defensive if she didn't know. She may also be rude to you if they DO allow this behavior and she's defensive of their lax parenting. She could overreact or avoid you. On the other hand, she may apologize and/or thank you for letting them know what their son was up to. She could react in any number of ways, but the bottom line is her reaction won't ruin your life... but speaking up MAY help that boy IF his parents are being fooled by him.

If you do speak up and find out his parents ARE permissive and allow this behavior (what are the odds?) at least you and your family will know for a fact what they allow and his family will truly know your objections. As it stands right now, the waters are very murky since you aren't speaking honestly with his parents. You may unintentionally be helping him hide prohibited behavior from his parents.

If you just can't see yourself speaking to her, would your husband consider speaking to the boys father and briefly explain exactly what happened? "I thought you should know what concerned us on this trip. I know if it was my child, I would appreciate knowing what my child's behavior was."

If they defend their son, fine. But at least they'll be doing it with eyes wide open.

I'm sorry this happened to you. It would really upset me too and would continue eating away at me - especially if I didn't deal with it. I would have had one of the adults (myself or DH) on the phone to his parents as soon as he started not only pulling these behaviors, but refusing to abide by your family rules. And ruining YOUR family trip.

OP, I hope I haven't hurt your feelings but that isn't being a saint as some have said (***see end of paragraph), it's allowing someone to walk all over you and your family and possibly allowing a child to fool his parents and maybe emboldened him to try other behaviors since he is (possibly) not getting caught. (***I won't get into a debate if PP'ers flame me, this will be my ONLY post on this thread, and hopefully it is of some help to the OP.)

Let's see, destruction of WDW property (pulling vases off the wall at resort), illegal smoking at age 16 (Penalties to Minors (it continually lists under the age of 18) quote: It is unlawful for minors to knowingly possess any tobacco product... FLA. STAT. ch. 569.11 (2001) unquote. Trying to get your 12/13 yr. old to smoke. And rude, disrespectful conduct toward you and your family. No, you were not being unreasonable. However, I would focus on his illegal behavior with his parents rather than his refusing to honor the texting agreement which they may think is no big deal. I would be thinking to myself more that I was proud my son saw what this boy is like, was embarrassed by his friends behavior and has limited his association with him until he (hopefully) improves and I would worry less about what he or his parents think of you.

At 16 this may be him beginning to see what he can get away with. So far, he is.

I hope you or your DH can speak up truthfully to those parents because in the end, it will be better than all this lack of communication. And it will help you have confidence in future situations in life that you can not only speak up for yourself and your family but enforce your family values when someone else is attempting to walk all over you.

I hope it works out well for you. Also, I'm glad you had some time after he left the trip to enjoy WDW with you family.
 
Well she's wrong about her son making good choices, because he chose to be a rude jerk to you. People have different parenting styles, some have fewer rules than others. But just because you don't have rules to follow at home doesn't mean you can't follow reasonable rules for a week! She seems to think her son is mature, when in fact he's a big baby.

While I understand not wanting to get into it with the mom, I think you should at least mention the smoking. But your opportunity to do so may have passed.

I feel badly for your son. I hope the other boy isn't gossiping about the trip to his classmates.

My girls are toddlers, but I'll definitely be thinking of your story when they are older and want to bring a friend along.
 
We just returned from a 10 night stay at CR(first time) and 4 nights at the WL(first time also) We LOVED both resorts. We had orginally booked all 14 nights at the WL but switched the first 10 nights so DS16 could bring his best friend, what a mistake, we have had this kid at our place many times and he was always polite and well behaved but on the 10 day holiday it was totally different, I felt so sorry for my ds as he was shocked and has actually not spoken to his friend since they returned which I find sad that it may have ruined their friendship. His parents paid for his flight and disney ticket and gave him his spending $, we paid the difference in hotel to go from the WL to CR to be able to sleep 5, we had free dining so food was not an issue other than breakfast and tips which I paid. Now disers please tell me if I was being unreasonable, we talked with the teenagers before the holiday and made 1 rule, no texting on their phones after we all go to bed, most nights we wouldn't go to bed until 12-1am, they said fine before we went but once there this boy refused to put his phone away and texted until 3 most nights, that light gets annoying. He also texted on the rides, my son didn't even bring his phone to the parks.
Other issues we had-he pulled the vases off that are glued on the shelf in the CR, He brought cigars:scared1: and felt he could smoke where ever he liked on the grounds, and tried to get my 13 year old to smoke, I wouldn't let him get an energy drink with his cs meal one night and he said he should be allowed to get whatever the hell he wanted as his Mom paid for him, I told him I paid for the room and that is where the dining comes in and I was paying the tips so no he couldn't have one, he then texted his Mom to say I was complaining about the tips.
He would go out wandering the hotel grounds after we had all gone to bed and we would have to go looking for him and find him smoking cigars by the pool, I explained you could only smoke in certain areas or it was a $250 fine and he said "whatever"
he told us the most he wanted to spend in a park was 3 hours, he has never been to Disney and that he was only happy if he was swimming or golfing(they golfed 3 times in 7 days, plenty I think). told us epcot and illuminatios was gay, I could go on and on but just had to vent as I found it very sad that I tried to do something nice for my son and his friend and his friend almost ruined the whole trip for everyone.
Thanks for listening everyone:goodvibes

It's always tough to take other along with you. Sending Pixie Dust your way. We travel with other adults sometimes and there are times even thats difficult.
 


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