Would you let your child do this or am I over the top?

[KrustyBurger]

Currently on holiday in the USA. We are staying at a Marriott so not a motel type set up.

Husband asked our daughter who is 12 to run some rubbish down to the bin next to the lift, she would have to go past about 12 room doors (6 each side).

I said no, il do it as you never know who’s in the rooms and it only takes 5 seconds for someone to open the door and yank her in and you wouldn’t even know which room it is or where she is.

Husband said ok but gave me a strange glance.

Was I being over the top? Or would other parents do the same. It’s nearly 10pm at night here.

Husband's a bit of a clean freak and our bin is full hence not just leaving it.

Empty a bin is not an onerous chore.

So people saying it's reasonable, if you are in an all inclusive resort, or on a campsite, your 12yo is not allowed to walk around by themselves? They have to stay with you at all times?

Wander about Aka walk down a corridor.

Oh sorry I read this as past 12 doors and down in the lift....so not down in the lift? Then yeah I wouldnt think twice about walking past 12 doors on the same corridor!

Do you eve leave your home?

I mean why risk it?

if you are that worried, just drop the rubbish off next to the lift as you all go down to breakfast or go out for the day?

Eh?
A three year old is very different to a 12 year old who probably travels to school without an adult!!

Do you eve leave your home?

But staying home is also very risky - did you know most people die at home?

I wouldn’t ask my son/daughter to do that, not for your reasons though, it’s just not a chore I’d ask them to do

@GardenersWord why wouldn't you though?

Genuinely, I am curious as to why not.

If you didn't feel it was safe for whatever reason then don't let her do it. It's wise to be more cautious when abroad in a new place.

It's not like there is any benefit in her doing the task really.

Having said that I think you were overcautious and I'd probably let my 4 year old do this (but not if there was anything suspect, a human trafficking poster might put me off too!)

Really surprised that there are people who wouldn't do this. Since she was about 11, DD (now just 13) has been going back from the pool to a hotel room alone to collect something, or wandering down a street in a Greek village to buy the souvenir she had seen earlier. And of course she walks to the bus stop and gets the bus to and from school alone etc. and occasionally walks from school to town alone, or from our stables to Starbucks round the corner etc. I can't imagine not letting her do these things at this point. They are all environments that we have checked out and she is comfortable in, but so ought a Marriott corridor be really.

If it's such a dangerous hotel you should really think about moving your another one.

This is why there are so many mental health problems in the young. They are being taught that the world and normal life is too dangerous for them.

@Feelinadequate23 that has genuinely never happened to me in over three decades of staying in hotels!

@KrustyBurger I can't quite understand why your OH wouldn't just take the rubbish himself?

Oh no! Not drunk idiots 😂Yes best keep DD locked up in case she comes across anyone who has had a few alcoholic drinks!

Also, what happens if OP's DD is out in her local town or on a bus and comes across "drunk idiots"??? If she going to run home crying to her mum???

And who regularly comes across groups of drunk men in hotel corridors?! Unless you're maybe on a stag do in Benidorm 😂

How do some people on MN ever leave their house?

There's CCTV in the corridor, she'd have made a fuss and the very liklihood of even been grabbed is miniscule

Totally OTT. Extreme helicopter parenting.

In a foreign country at age 11? This post has given me the chills 🤦‍♀️

The idea that a teenager (or close to it) doesn't require constant supervision gives you chills?

Sheesh.

I hope you're being sarcastic 😂 you do realise that 11 year olds live in Greece and probably walk down the road by themselves??

Age 11 is not a teenager & age 13 is still a young child

The chills 🤣🤣🤣

That’s fine though because they live there. And apparently you can’t be abducted where you live. Only in a foreign country 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣

Yes, in a small Greek village that we had spent a few hours in, where we were less than a minute away, probably the same distance as the Marriott corridor to be honest. Or a small Greek hotel that we'd stayed in for several days.

I'm not understanding the chills, and I do worry more about her being out and about locally to where we live, even though it's generally a nice safe area. There's no greater inherent risk in a small Greek village than in a Cheshire market town.

I guess my question is.... If not now then when? She's a teen, and there is no magical button that you switch at 15 or 18 etc that makes them suddenly ready.

And btw plenty of adults also get abducted.