Parents, would you let your daughters do this?

[WeLoveLilo05]

I knew a mom like this. We stopped inviting her daughter because I couldn't stand her Mom expecting to tag along. It was very awkward to have the mom follow us to the zoo and eat lunch with us. Then at dinner, she didn't have enough money to eat at the restaurant we were going to, and didn't want us to pay "of course" so we ended up at Taco Bell. We were thrilled.

Well she'll always have her mom
Seriously, DD has a peanut allergy and I worry when it comes to her eating where I am not providing the food. If it was DD and she was going on a trip with a handful of other girls, how do I know that the mom would remember to tell the server that DD has a peanut allergy? Its even harder when going to an amusement park, for example, I know Dorney Park has multiple french fry stands that use peanut oil
Just think 8-9 is too young for 6 hours away for MY daughter with her needs.

 

[pigletgirl]

I went with a friend to disneyland at that age for her birthday. I remember having a blast! So, yes if I had a daughter at that age and knew the family well, she would be able to go.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Well she'll always have her mom
Seriously, DD has a peanut allergy and I worry when it comes to her eating where I am not providing the food. If it was DD and she was going on a trip with a handful of other girls, how do I know that the mom would remember to tell the server that DD has a peanut allergy? Its even harder when going to an amusement park, for example, I know Dorney Park has multiple french fry stands that use peanut oil
Just think 8-9 is too young for 6 hours away for MY daughter with her needs.

I notice that your daughter is 5, if I'm reading your signature correctly. One thing that has consistently amazed me as a parent, is how poorly I anticipate my child's needs when I look a few years down the road. For example, I chose the school my child attended until last year, in part because it went through 8th grade and I knew he'd "need" a small nurturing setting through then, and certainly didn't want him in a huge public middle school. I pulled him out after 5th grade and he's going to a huge public middle school next year, because he was getting bored and stifled and is more than ready for the challenge of lots of teachers and different teaching style, lots of new kids to meet, changing classes etc . . .

I work in a school, and I'm very protective of our young kids with peanut allergies and other allergies, because they need us to protect them. However, when I look at our older kids, 2nd or 3rd grade and beyond I'm amazed at their ability to advocate for themselves. At 8 you'll likely know that whether or not the parent knew to ask your daughter did, or she'll have the maturity to remember to carry her own food and eat only that, or to recognize brands she knows are safe and read labels. It probably seems really hard to believe that now

Like I said in my reply, I take kids on a lot of these kinds of trips, and I'm always delighted to have someone's mom come along, whether it's an old friend or an opportunity to make a new one, so I wouldn't feel shy about asking if I were you. The OP clearly feels the same way. But don't be surprised if 3 or 4 years from now your daughter gets invited somewhere by her best friend and you don't blink an eye. I'm taking my son's best friend, who has a life threatening allergy, to Universal this fall and that's about a 4 hour trip for us, 2 of them on an airplane.

 

[golfgal]

Did you take a carload of other people's 8 year olds on a 6 hour round trip? Your kids is one thing- a bunch of screaming 8 year olds is another. That doesn't sound pleasant to me.
I can't justify 6 hours in a car for 6 hours of fun someplace. But that's my family. I am happy that it works for you guys. Not judging just saying it's not my idea of valuable use of time.

Yes, I would have. DD did with other friends. We did take kids to a waterpark on several occasions that was 2 hours away. It was easier to take the kids with their friends then it was to take them with their siblings quite honestly and they would NOT have been screaming in the car .

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Yes, I would have. DD did with other friends. We did take kids to a waterpark on several occasions that was 2 hours away. It was easier to take the kids with their friends then it was to take them with their siblings quite honestly and they would NOT have been screaming in the car .

I'm also a little confused as to why they would be screaming. In my experience kids are generally better behaved when their own parents aren't there, so I'd expect less screaming from unrelated kids than from siblings.

 

[mhsjax]

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[java]

I'm not talking about screaming like fighting screaming I'm talking the giggling, laughing, high pitched sounds that excited young girls can do.

 

[tmarquez]

I'd let DD go.

But If I were taking the girls, I would definately try to work it out so that we could stay the night...too much driving for me after all day at a theme park.

 

[Kitzka]

I would in a heartbeat (and have!) DD stopped having 'large' birthday parties with lots of kids at the age of 8. After that we started taking family trips and would bring along a freind or two. DD has 4 close freinds and have 1 or another to Hershey, Disney, Cancun, Utah and Seattle (some of these are holiday trips). These girls are like my other daughters. We were usually gone for a week on each trip, except for Hershey where it was 3 days

DD's one friend is the same way and does not prefer large parties and DD has had the benefit of being able to go to Montreal, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad.

If the parents are okay i think it would be awesome
Lara

 

[MoniqueU]

No problems here. Most of the good stuff is an hour away like disney, the beach and the ski slopes. Now my oldest DD is getting invited to weekend trips to AZ and atm riding. I always assume other parents are like me and more careful when other peoples kids are involved. We used to take some kids up to six flags which i think is over 2 hours away and had zero problems. At the age my oldest DD is now it is harrder to really know all the parents as well as when it was elementary school and you went to all the practices etc. My oldest DD is in water polo and I don't drive due to my eyesight and last summer when she was 12 I let her go to a weekend Jr Olympic event about 8 hours away with a group of girls on the team. i wasn't real close with the family but knew the daughter enough to say yes. If I hadn't of let her go with this family she would of missed an important national event as even if I flew up there I would not of been able to rent a car to drive around. Some parents wouldn't be ok with that but in my situation I don't have control over alot of stuff and just have to keep my fingers crossed that it is ok.

Also my oldest son now drives and THAT makes you toughen up and hold your breath the whole time they are gone. He drove some friends out to the Laker parade and was gone a huge chunk of the day as he is when he goes to the beach. After letting him do that which is super common at his age of 17 letting my DD's go on a 3 hour amusement park trip one way doesn't seem like as big of a deal. Alot of parenting of older kids is done by prayer whether you a a believer or not!!

 

[golfgal]

I'm not talking about screaming like fighting screaming I'm talking the giggling, laughing, high pitched sounds that excited young girls can do.

Over the years I have learned to tune that stuff out. If it gets so bad I can't tune it out I ask them to settle down, not an issue.