April holiday wwyd?

[shakeitoffshakeacocktail]

I have been asked to go on a cruise next April 2024 with my mum.

We both work school holidays and I have a daughter who will be in y6. She will be one month short of her 11th birthday. She is an only child. I am divorced from her father and he has no other children or step children.

So, he has said he will look after her next April but can't take time off work.
His work is running a campsite. We have stayed their a few times and it's a nice site.
He lives in a chalet on site, it's very nice and has good internet.

Would you let your (nearly) 11 year old be unsupervised for blocks of time when the dad is working on site? Both have mobiles and at home (even now) I sometimes won't see her for a couple of hours at a time, school hols she's in her room or playing out. Good communication between myself and my daughter. She gets on well with her dad too.
He has a partner she works on the campsite too as do other people. Quite a large campsite but not a chain or anything

We will be gone for 7 days he will get at least one day off and works shifts. He will obviously feed her for the week and be checking in on her.

Maybe a week is too long and we should do a shorter break and try to cruise another time?

Should say we've been separate since she was tiny and after she was about 2 he settled into a good routine of having her overnight and paying for her (it's not always been good enough or consistent enough but hey ho)

Where he is now is a 3 hour drive he's been there 2 years and still drives there and back each fortnight to see her.

But the maximum overnights he's had with her in her life has been 2/3 overnights in a row.

I almost want to accept just to break the cycle but maybe we should have a mini break/ test first

Are you saying your child will miss school to stay with her Dad, while you are on holiday? If I've read this correctly, I'd take her on holiday with you - although I also wouldn't pull my child out of school in Y6.

No, it's all school holidays. My mum and I both work in schools.

Her dad decided to take an on-site living job running a holiday site in England he therefore cannot ever take school holidays off!

She has been on plenty holidays with me over the years but this one was an adults only cruise is April

I would take her somewhere in summer too

OK, sorry, I misread the "We both work school holidays" bit.

In which case, go for it.

No I wouldn’t leave a 10 year old on their own for the best part of the week. I’d say if the Dad had an office job and she could sit in the office and be supervised at all times and then they’d spend the evening and weekend together then yes, we used to go to work with our grandparents during school holidays and do exactly this. But a 10 year old left on their own all day and night with Dad popping in to feed and check in her? Absolutely not. Not for safety reasons and not for the her happiness either.

So she’s onsite with her dad.
that’s fine. It’s a holiday campsite (rather than one which hosts people working nearby?)

It's a popular tent and caravan holiday site in a lovely national park. Very family oriented.
There will obviously be rules for her and when we've visited the site he seems to pop round all the time.

I think I'll ask her about it. I know she can mooch around all day when I'm at home and I can pop to the co-op etc and she knows the rules then.

I do already feel a bit guilty but I know by age 12/13 she would 100% be able to do this. She will be nearly 11. Maybe we just make it a couple days instead of a week and see how it goes.

She could probably sit in the campsite office for a bit of the day and or help her dad depending what he's up to.

He has a small older dog who she loves so i half imagine them on the sofa for hours with phone and tv but maybe a week is too long. Maybe his mum could visit at the same time and take her somewhere