Flying as an unaccompanied minor at age 7

Multiple strangers are going to be entrusted with the care of your 7 year old niece, in country that she doesn’t reside in.

You and your sister are insane for thinking this ok.

How exactly do you expect your niece to cope if one of those strangers causes her harm?

I did this as a child from age 7, transatlantic flights a few times a year. Cabin crew used to check in regularly, was always fine.

The school where I teach, had its PGL residential a couple of weeks ago.

The children were year 6; they were with their friends and with familiar, trusted adults. They had a great time during the day but there were children who were upset and homesick once it was bedtime.

Sending a 7 year old to a camp abroad where she won't know anyone is such a batshit idea that I'm struggling to believe that the thread isn't a wind up.

Anyone with the money to do that has the money to pay for a week's childcare at home.

DH and I had a flight from Singapore to the UK a few years ago- a 14hr flight. An unaccompanied 8yr old girl was sat next to me. She spoke French. My 1st language is English but I speak enough French to get along. I translated the meal options to her and the relevant announcements etc.

We were vaguely chatting about why she was travelling to the UK, what she liked at school etc. She pulled her shirt right up to show me a mole she'd had since birth on her chest.

I happen to be a health professional with an advanced criminal record check (DBS) but none of the crew would know that. At the end of the flight, 1 crew member thanked me for chatting with the child and admitted that none of them spoke any French. I wasn't comfortable with it all. I could have been saying anything to this child and the fact she openly showed me her chest/stomach to a stranger didn't feel right at all.

If your niece speaks English/French then crew on Swiss air should be able to help her more than the child I looked after. I personally think 7 is too young to be doing unaccompanied trips.

FFS Shes 7!!!!!!!!!

Being irresponsible and reckless, according to the account on here.

Just because they exist doesn’t mean they’re not morally abhorrent

Use your imagination, please. Everyone I've ever heard of who went to boarding school at seven cried themselves to sleep and were totally miserable

That's quite different though, isn't it? She was going to visit her dad.

Where are the parents in this?

Just the thought of this makes me feel sick. Seven years old! That's so young. I don't understand how anyone can think this is ok.

It depends on the kid - DS was mature and outgoing. Actively would run to camps and forget to say goodbye.

Add in a flight, some strangers he wasn't familiar with, a strange country and potentially a strange language?
Nope too much.

The security blanket is being close by if they do get upset.

My DD flew as an unaccompanied minor when she was that age. She loved it and the cabin crew definitely looked out for her. She did it with no issues a couple of times a year to go visit her dad. Never had an issue.

Has the DD had much other experience staying away from home? I can only imagine she’s done other trips away and enjoyed them? My DS did nights away with Beavers from age 6 so built up confidence being away from home.

just another vote to say step-children and cousins travelled as unaccompanied minors on short European flights every school holiday for many years. Approx 1999 - 2012. I think the youngest one to travel alone was actually 5 (happy and confident child who was excited to do what their siblings had been doing).

No issues at all - ever. Either back then, or when grown. They were always extremely well-looked after and often spoilt by airline staff.

Difference is they were met by and staying with family at both ends.

Ignore all the pearl-clutchers and tell your sister to be guided by her own child - if she is looking forward to it, I’m sure niece will be fine. As long as it is easy for her to communicate with home, and there is a plan B if she’s at all anxious or unhappy while she is there.

Especially when she is in a school of people breaking up and being off at the same time as her- the solutions are around you every day.

Maybe not inexplicable that the sister can't draw on any irl relationships to come up with a favour swap if the whole family are inculcated into thinking this solution is normal.

This is insane. Can she really not take time off work?

Yes DD2 went for a week this year for PGL age 8 and had asked for 2 weeks next year

Yet - we were a drive away so could pick her up if needed asap vs flight

There can be a big difference between age 7 and age 8 in how they think and how ready they would be

The flight piece - it depends on how used to airports and flights they are. I assume you mean some kind of unaccompanied minors service where they are helped through. It could be fine if they have flown regularly enough to get used to airports.

Mainly - I don’t see an issue necessarily with the idea of camp abroad - but it feels potentially rushed at age 7

Sounds like emotional abuse to me. When she goes non contact as a young adult, don’t act surprised.

My DC use to fly as unaccompanied minors to see their grandparents - a 2hr flight. The youngest had just turned 5 when they started.
They weren’t flying the same airline as your neice, but it sounds like they have the same process where the children are accompanied onto and off the plane. They sit all the unaccompanied minors together near kitchen so the staff can keep an eye on them. There’s usually quite a few kids. They wear lanyards and tracker bracelets which are scanned at boarding and hand over and they text updates so parents know where the child is. They are always the last group to get on and off the plane. The system worked really well.

You can’t be that desperate for childcare surely?

You are quite determined to think what your sister has planned for her 7-year old is reasonable, in the face of the overwhelmingly majority view here that it is riven with potential pitfalls. Are you planning on sharing these responses with your sister to encourage her to change her mind, or are you going to remain silent and persist in your view that it's fine? School holiday dates are published at least 12 months in advance so there was really no need for your sister to find herself in this position.

and if she wants her child to go to this camp can't she travel with her - it is probably saturday to saturday - take a day off and travel with your child introduce her to the camp and see the people she is leaving her vulnerable little kid with (still not ideal but it is something).

This can't be real.

I expect this is what the parents are aiming for.

Poor kid. Why isn’t a single one of her family available to look after her? She might cope with it and ‘be ok’ but fuck me, how can any parent, in all conscience, do this to a child who has just turned 7? Is any job worth that? I’d rather be poor.