Would it be wrong to travel without the children after passport mistake?

[Halohalolumpia]

Alright, so we’ve made a silly mistake and found out our eldest’s passport is expired, and we fly tomorrow. We didn’t get travel insurance so that’s a couple of grand down the drain. The two options are to leave the kids ( 2 years 9 and 5 years 8 months) with my parents whom they stay with every week anyway. Or we just all don’t go. It’s such a waste and I am torn. My hubs is ok going on our own but I feel sooooo guilty! The kids were so looking forward to it. Has anyone been in this situation and is it bad parenting going on our own :/ We’ve been away on our own before for a wedding for a couple of days but not 6 days. thanks xx

How could you go on a holiday your kids were excited about and leave them behind?

You’d be miserable and guilt ridden.

One of you takes the younger one, the other stays and gets a fast-tracked passport with the elder child.

Only when you enter API which precedes checkin, so can be just a few days ahead.

You may as well go..cos you're a shit parent for even thinking about going without them never mind asking hundreds of thousands if strangers. ..and hell, you didn't even bother to get insurance anyway, so if something ontoward happens, you'll be left with the bills and prob expecting others to pay.

Well if the holiday is 2 weeks then they get the last week

I think it would be really wrong. You’ve already let them down by messing up on the passport but to then go without them would be a double blow. Focus instead on making it up to them with days out and lots of treats

Very much agreed! We'd Ben going without a problem for five years, and so I just didn't think of it until the week before we were leaving for the wedding.
I will not excuse myself.

Bloody hell.

I would not even consider going on a holiday that my kids had been so looking forward to, especially if it was due to MY errors (passport AND no insurance) and leave them behind.

I honestly am not sure how you can even contemplate that this would be an option.

Like others have said, if you don't want to miss out completely, one goes with the youngest and the other stays and gets a passport on fast track and joins later. But either way its shit for your eldest to miss out on a day (or two) but its better than not going at all.

Lessons learned for next time. Double check passports well in advance and get bloody travel insurance!!

@FairKoala the holiday is 6 days long.

@ErlingHaalandsManBun I refer you to my post at 20.12 above …

Shall I tell the person I know who has had exactly the same issue today that she must be lying about it?

I don't think you're a smart as you think you are

There are only two children and the one without the passport is 5 years 8 months old.

The confusion is that OP has used “EldEST” when she should have said “EldER”.

@Halohalolumpia your elder child is old enough to remember being left behind when a holiday was promised. Tough luck.

Absolutely none of your business

I mean, it’s the adults fault that the passport has expired and you think you both deserve a holiday and to leave the children behind? When they’d been looking forward to it?

I’m sorry OP, I’d be disappointed to and these things happen but you can’t go x

Not sure where you are in the country, but most passport offices have appts on Thursday, and you’d be issued it there any then. Then you could fly out later with your eldest.

@Halohalolumpia
Were you seriously going to take your children on holiday with no travel insurance? Why? Its costs hardly anything but could save you tens of thousands.

So, you not only didn’t bother to check passports (first thing you do when booking a holiday), you also decided you’d travel without insurance and what? Rely on a gofundme if someone was injured or unwell?

It is possible. In person appointment at your local passport office, it is called a VIP-service, £600 if you come to the passport office or £1200 if they come to your home address. Next day passport for £1200 or I think 2 days for £600?

No travel insurance is plain daft.

I wouldn't go, the kids would have been so excited for a holiday, I just wouldn't enjoy it knowing how disappointed they'd be.

Could one parent go with the 2 with passports and book something later for the other child and parent.

That’s a lot of detail on ages lol

Children’s passports have a 5 day safeguarding policy anyway, so even if you did get a new one it wouldn’t come straight away anyway.

I wouldn’t be going, I’d be gutted but I couldn’t enjoy myself knowing my kids wouldn’t be there especially when they were looking forward to it, I’d just put it down to poor planning and remember for next to time to check passports.

It would not cover consequences of an out of date passport anyway.

Agreed but it's still fucking stupid to go on holiday without travel insurance.

But it’s stupid and doubly irresponsible when you’re travelling with kids. You’re not just responsible for yourself, you’ve got kids. It’s idiotic not to get travel insurance. They’re just like those sad face daily mail families with a gofundme. Idiotic.

Can you go twice? Book same hol again in a few weeks with them, when the passports through, & go enjoy this one on your own?

My little one would skin me alive and report me to my family if I left her behind after an error on my part 😭