How old does a child have to be to fly alone?

[eleusis]

From London to Chicago. I'm being hounded by my sisters in Chicago to see my kids before they are grown. And so I'm thinking about sending her on her own next summer for a couple of weeks. She will be 5 in March. Is this old enough?

what would happen if she got upset and wanted to come home once she was there?

its not the same as a bus journey though. they are looked after by cabin crew.

I used to do this regularly as a child, starting from when I was 3, apparently. At that age my mum had to pay £20 extra or so. And I sent dd1 to stay with cousins in France when she was 7, which lots of people thought was outrageous, but she was fine with.

Not sure whether I should tell you about the time when BA put me, then aged 7, in a plane to Stockholm when I was meant to be going to Berlin...

but it's a very long time, and they don't know the cabin crew from adam do they?

sorry, I just couldn't do it personally and am shocked that airlines allow it at such a young age

Oh, tell us more, Frogs! (Not to be alarmist as I'm sure it happens VERY rarely - just sounds like a good story!)

I used to do it when I was little. I would be sent to the family in Italy for the summer holidays from age 5 and I had an escort from the airline. Was great fun, got taken into the cockpit to sit with the pilot for part of the flight and given all kinds of games and toys to play with.

I don't know if airlines still do this tho and I don't think it would be wise to do it otherwise.

what would happen if she got upset and wanted to come home once she was there?

erm... she would make the best of it and come home according to the plan. But, I don't think this would happen.

And, she, DS, and I are going to Chicago in March (probably). So they would be farmiliar a few months later. But, the fact that she doesn't know them is the reason for going not a a reason to stay home.

Although my DD is pretty confident and independent here I don't think she would cope on a long plane journey and staying for any length of time with people she didn't know. If I knew my child was upset and homesick I would be feeling dreadful - not sure I could risk that.

But you know your own child and what she can deal with.

Oh frogs, tell us more. Did you like Stockholm. Your story could be the next Home Alone movie... only you would have to be Away Alone.

She talks to her cousins on the phone and she will love all the attention I'm sure. The only thing she'll be a bit upset about is that she's staying at people's houses rather than in a hotel. She has this weird obsession with hotel. And they have to serve breakfast. But, she'll get over that... I hope.

And I work full time and sometimes travel for work, when she is at home with the nanny all week long. So I think she would be okay with my absense. I think she would miss me. But, I think Cousins and downtown Chicago will keep her entertained.

I think the mistake must have arisen as there was a larger group of kids going on a flight to Stockholm at the same time, so the staff must have just assumed that all the little white-blond ones were going to Sweden.

I vaguely knew something was not quite right, in the way you do as a child (I'd done lots of flights before), but didn't quite know what to do about it. Was a very shy, can't-say-boo-to-a-goose sort of kid. After about 30 mins of waiting with the hostesses in the pickup area at Stockholm I eventually volunteered that my relatives were waiting for me in Berlin. Cue kettle-of-hot-water-into-an-anthill syndrome among the staff. I got taken to the staff canteen and fed chips and Haribo, so that was okay. I got to Berlin eventually, but via somewhere else iirc.

You know your child. If she'll be confortable with it and yuou can afford it, it'll be a great expereince for her.

FWIW, ds would have been fine - he has always been very good and confident with other people and he would have had a ball!

Tell you what Ele I can send dd along with her , she is dying to go back and got upset when dh said he was going next May.

Janitor, I do take your point. And that is probably the case for lots of children. But, I don't think my DD will have a problem. She is quite independant and adventurous. And it would be good for her to see her cousins.

Sometimes a child benefits by being pushed a bit. Not too much of course. But, a trip to Chicago would be very educational for her.

Frogs, come on... tell us about Stockholm.

Sorry frogs, crosse posts there.

Oh, and I didn't mean to suggest my DD would need pushing.

If I say, her DD do you want to get on a plane and got to Chicago and have hot dogs with cousin X and see Grandmother and Granddad and.... blah blah blah I think there is a very small change of her saying "no". Apart from the hotel thing... Will have to break that part gently.

COV, not a bad idea. Maybe we could send them both when your DH is in town. My sis canlook after them in the day and your DH can see them in the evening. Now what should we do with DSes???

And before anyone jumps on me, my 3 year old DS will not be going.

That's all I can tell, Eleusis, I only saw the airport.

But I would be happy to send my 5yo on a plane IF the child liked the idea AND I was confident that he/she could handle the reality. I'd be happier with short-haul European flights, though. And do agree that a child's confidence can grow enormously from doing things independently as long as it is within their ability to cope.

Honestly all this how-scary-she'll=be-so-upset posts when the OP said her dd is up for the plan. Sometimes kids just have to fit around adult arrangements and priorities a little rather than treated like china dolls.

I got so much s* on here when I suggested my 11 yr old be put on a 4 hr train journey alone, which I'd pick him up from. People saying he d be bundled off the train by prowling paedos. . He was fine. But I nearly bottled it and treated him like a baby because of all the creepy doom0mongers on here.

I think it is a great plan. She will be spoiled rotten by her aunts and feel so proud of being independent. Loads of divorced kids do this kind of thing every holiday.

I'm not a creepy doom-monger, DW! I was egging you on, iirc.

No you froggie.

"sometimes kids just have to fit around adult arrangements"?? (I wonder if that's the tack madeleine mccanns parents took?)

she's FIVE. and she isn't fitting around anything, she's being bunged on a plane, 12 hours away to visit people she barely knows.

ok, eleusis knows her daughter best, and if she thinks she'll be fine then so be it. But I personally wouldn't do it.

I hardly think bringing the McCaan's situation on hear is necessary, nor relevant . As others have said the girl would be on a plane thousands of feet in the air fgs. Hardly a risk of abduction

here

no, but a train is.
I was just trying to make a point. It's easy to sit here and say "well, they have to fit in around us"- but in reality terrible things can and DO happen- the mccanns is just one example of that. People assuming that a risk is tiny and that they're willing to take it and then something awful happening.

if you're willing to take that risk then fine.

I used to get the train to wales all the time when I was young. 5/6/7 etc
The guard kept an eye and made sure I got off at the right stop
Wish I could send my dd there now, but guards wont' do it anymore...