Can I leave my 11 year old alone in airport for an hour?

[Lifoo]

Interested in what the other parents might think about this.

I live in a different country to my kids and regularly fly to Ireland to collect them and then bring them back to UK with me.

On the last trip it was just my 11 year old son travelling and as my plane had been delayed (communicated this with ex) she left my son in the airport by himself, siting that she had to attend a client meeting.

He ended up waiting by himself near security departure gates for an hour.

Thoughts?

Unless your DS was upset to be left or there’s some SEN it’s fine.

aer Lingus let children from 12 fly unaccompanied so it seems unlikely anyone at the airport would be overly concerned

Fine if the child is happy with that. Mine would have been, no issues sitting in a cafe for an hour. Don't most kids that age meet up with friends and do things independently? Take the bus? Bike somewhere? 'Anything can happen' then as well - airports at least are safe, full of security and any other assistance if needed.

A Year 7 11 year old used to walking to and from school on their own is absolutely fine. A recently turned 11 year old who may not be used to being on their own might find it a bit overwhelming.

If the child is sensible and happy with it then it is not a problem.

Our local county council sends 11yo children to schools where they need to get two public busses, navigating a change in the center of town. Based on that an average 11yo whkuld be fine sitting waiting in an airport for someone who was definitely on the way.

It totally depends on the child though, and how familiar they were with the surroundings.

No. Airports are really dangerous and 11 is no age, especially for a boy . I wouldn't risk it.

I wouldn’t have left him if it were me doing the handover. With that said I think it’s very safe and would have done it as a planned handover. Only if they had a phone though.

If he’s in high school and has a phone I think it’s fine.

What?! This is insane, and not at all the norm for Ireland (or I’d have been locked up years ago). Are you sure your husband has given you the full story?

It’s one of those “not ideal but will probably be fine” situations, OP (and I presume everything did turn out ok?). My 11yo wouldn’t have liked being left in that scenario, but she’s sensible enough that I know she would wait where she was told, and phone me if there was a problem. I can’t imagine a child sitting quietly with a book or their phone would draw attention from security.

As for the “You could have left earlier” poster - unless the OP was flying the plane, I’m not sure he could have, really.

Just to reiterate also, an 11yo in Ireland is not in secondary school - as primary school here lasts for eight years and children generally start around 5, most kids are 13, or close to 13, when they go to secondary.

This isn’t the case. My son has flown unaccompanied minor before the age of 12. He now travels alone - a lot of airlines allow this from the age of 12.

Personally I don’t think I would do it if I could avoid it but it really depends on the child. My 12 year old would be fine if she knew the airport etc but I wouldn’t leave our 16 year old.

Of course its fine, so long as he was OK with being left, preferably with some money to get something in a cafe.

Airports are really dangerous

In what way @Sunshineandgrapefruit ? I'm trying to think of a single way on which is an airport is dangerous, and I can't. By most metrics I reckon an airport is one of the safest and most secure places that anyone could be.

Edited to add that unaccompanied minors isn't a thing anymore.

Plenty of airlines offer this service. However, the UM are of course not left waiting alone at arrival gates, so that's not relevant to this topic.

In what way dangerous? Presumably he wasn’t left on the runway?

Why especially for a boy?

Oh fuck off.

You literally just said he didn't need her and she had to be at work. Why should she risk her job, are women allowed to work?

Edited due to mis reading!

I didn't say he didn't need her. I said it wasn't unsafe. That doesn't mean an 11 year old child of divorced parents living in seperate countries wouldn't want his mother to stay with him until he gets collected.

You sound adorable by the way.

Generally no - not quite old enough - but yours sounds like a one-off situation where your ex was in a difficult situation not of her own making

If you’re not able to pick them up from their home country and drop them back, you could look into airlines that offer assistance for unaccompanied minors. It costs a bit extra, but is well worth it.

The OP is picking the child up from their own country. The problem is only that their flight to pick the child up was delayed so the child had to wait long then expected.

No, my nearly 12 year old would be overwhelmed and scared.
She is very bright, mature, sensible. She would be fine but I don't think that's ok as a parent.

My two, at 11 would have been absolutely fine and so would most of their friends.

However I work with families and some of the eleven year olds I've worked with, i wouldn't trust to go to the end of their garden alone because they are either that daft or very vulnerable.

It was only an hour so not long really.

What's your view OP?
What do you want from this thread? A way to score points over her?

The title of your thread doesn't match the content.
You ask ' can I leave my child ali e in the airport for an hour'

Well it has already happened and clearly you can.
Whether its ideal or not is a different question.