Ariana Grande dilemma

[coulditbeme2323]

OK we are spending the summer in Florida. Myself, husband, and children. As it is half work half holiday - we are taking our 19 year old niece for the 6 weeks to help out when we are working.

My girl is 15 and we have managed to get Ariana Grande tickets in Atlanta. For information it's about a two hour flight from Orlando.

Now my husband is happy for our 19 year old niece (who is very sensible) to go with our daughter.

I have said it's a big city, and I would rather go. Not to the concert, but just travel with them.

They only plan to be gone 48 hours.

Who is right?

Yes, Florida is hot.

But so is the Mediterranean. So is Thailand. So is India. So is Dubai.So is Australia. People go on holiday to those places all the time and manage perfectly well. Most British people who go to Florida are going there in summer because that's when the main school holidays are. It's a completely normal summer holiday destination and really not anything unusual.

I did a road trip from Washington DC to Key West in July one year. It was fine. Hot, sure. But not any hotter than I would have been countless other very popular holiday destinations visited by millions of holidaymakers. And considerably more air-conditioned than pretty much any other hot country I've visited.

So did I - back packed extensively in SE Asia by myself without a mobile phone.

Sadly times have changed and the world isn’t what it was 20 years ago. I’d go with them as under US law they aren’t fully adults (21). @coulditbeme2323

I travelled to Orlando from the UK on my own at 17 (changing flights in Detroit) and all was fine. Just ask your niece to enable find my on her phone for your peace of mind & pre-book them a cab from the airport to the hotel / venue. There again, I am the daughter of a woman who, aged 15 in the 1950s, took her 10 year old sister on holiday for a week from London to Devon!

18yr old go on gap years. My DC organised and went to Sweden. At 18 I went to Houston and Texas and didn't even tell my parents.

A 15yr old is capable. I was babysitting at that age. So a 19 and 15 yr old will be perfectly fine unless there's a back story of SEN.

But you trust her to look after your child whilst you work?

I trust her full stop, it isn't about trust.

So what is it about then? Because you’ve not actually said other than it being a big city.

are you quite ok? I am not sure all that drama is necessary.

I am sorry you think a 19 year old couldn't cope with a a trip 2 hours away, and that a 15 year old would be put into a vulnerable position.

It's a big city, it's sketchy at night, it's a city neither of them know.

But you're talking about a 15-year-old here. That's not akin to 'travelling with a child' at all. She's not a toddler who is going to run off and get lost if someone forgets to hold her hand, or who might catch chicken pox and need Calpol or start crying in the night for her mummy.

There's no more childcare involved for a 19-year-old catching a flight with a 15-year-old than there is in catching a flight with another 19-year-old - which they do all the time.

She's a teenager. If you don't think she can get on a plane with a young adult and go to a concert without incident, you really haven't done your job as a parent.

My friend's 15-year-old went inter-railing round Europe with her 18-year-old sibling for three weeks last year.

You are very nasty, why is this?

I would go and stay in the hotel with a good book. I'd be anxious if it was my 2 ds and they are 21 and 26! Some of us are just anxious mothers due to life experiences.

But I presume they are not going to go out into the sketchy parts? They will get Ubers everywhere? Stay in a nice hotel in a nice neighbourhood? And they know how to use Google maps and how to generally keep themselves safe?

The Arianna Grande crowd will all be teenage girls and their mums so even if there is a bit of a wait for their uber back to their hotel, they’ll be in good company.

They can totally do it. A 15 year old alone probably could although she might be be nervous, but together they will be just fine.

Just walk them through it, particularly timings, it will be good for them.

So what, though? Other people their age go to new places and manage perfectly well. It's a normal thing to do.

19-year-olds go backpacking around the world every single year without coming to any harm. They visit places they don't know - in countries where they don't speak the language, too. They go to big cities. That's normal - presumably you know that?

So why do you think it will somehow become more dangerous just because their companion is 15?

You are very anxious and massively infantilising your daughter. Why is this?

Seriously?! My 23 year old lives in Australia and has travelled all around Asia by himself. You need to cut the apron strings .

And to the OP I would let them go alone.

My point is that a normal 19 yo is perfectly capable of supervising a child on a trip.

I don't think I am.

I understand they will probably be fine, but yes of course as a Mother I am concerned.

You seem to have an issue with me on this thread and others.

I am all up for debating, but saying somebody has failed their daughter seems nasty for no apparent reason.

Changed as in, safer and everyone is connected to help at a moment's notice?

Joining the outliers club 🙋🏻‍♀️

it’s absolutely bonkers on here how bubble wrapped some people kids are. I had my own child at 19 and flew from London to LA, LA to New York, and New York back home with her. Didn’t take my mum with me 😂

also a 15 year old is not a child that needs to be looked after! A 19 year old and a 15 year old are perfectly capable of catching a 2hour flight and going to a concert. Could be a memorable experience for them without mum tagging along at the back keeping an eye on them 🙄 seriously they are 19 and 15. Not 9 and 5

They are completely different countries and are culturally nights and day. I have lived in both. Let’s start with gun culture, or acceptable things to talk about, or the way people approach each other….

My relative is 15 and flies UK to Atlanta. I don’t see the issue with a 19 year old accompanying a 15 year old at all.

I'm with you 100 percent, OP. I grew up in Georgia, lived in Atlanta for a while and go back often. It's a great city, still full of friendly, helpful people, but every time I go, I think "has this place doubled in size since my last visit?"

It's the sheer size and potential logistical complications that would concern me more than anything. In fact, after my last visit last year (my best and oldest friend lives there), I told DH that he was going to have to come with me next time as with my advancing age 😊, I could use the help.

Ignore all these people who are giving you a hard time and who have never set foot there, and go with these young women. I would bet they will enjoy the experience more with having you as a guide.