7 Year Old - On holiday on her own - PGL

[slipperandpjsmum]

My daugther is mad on horses and has seen a PGL hol which is a horsey holiday and asks constantly if she can go. Has anyone else used PGL holidays? How did you find them? We are concerned at 7 she is too young to go away for 5 nights but she is a confident child who is used to sleep overs where there has never been an issue. They do a taster holiday for 3 nights if parents feel this is needed. Any PGL experiences very welcome.

I think our school does Parent Get Lost holidays from year 5 or 6.

I wouldn't do this for my 7 year old. My 9 year old is going away for the weekend with school and that is hard enough for me.

It's common here in Swiss schools for kids to go on residential trips at madly young ages - DD did her first one-nighter with her class last autumn aged 5. DS has had a 3-night trip aged 8, and will be doing a 5-nighter this summer (he would be Yr 5 now in the UK).

So I wouldn't altogether rule it out, based on the right child. I'd perhaps consider the 3 nights, particularly if there's an option to stay on for the extra ones if all's going well, if that's how it's scheduled.

The only thing I'd be concerned about would be the age of the other kids. Many parents wouldn't dream of letting their DCs go away this young, so your DD might be put in a room/ cabin/ whatever with a bunch of older kids, 10+ perhaps. Something to ask the organisers.

When I was younger I went on PGL holidays on my own. I still remember them as being one of the highlights of the year. I loved them and made some great friends. They used to have a scheme where you could ask to be put in contact with someone else who would be away the same week as you before you went so that you at least 'knew' one person before you got there. All totally great.

Haven't done PGL. DD has done KidsKlub residential since 6.5 for full week away. No problem at all. And since your DD sounds very like mine, I'd go for it. You can always call her midway through - though mine talked at 100mph for 3 minutes without drawing breath and then said "got to go it's dinner time" and ran off.

I'd want to know about the group dynamics and know their "what happens if" answers but if all the checks came back satisfactory then I'd be inclined to say yes and give my child the independence rather than worrying about whether she would be 100% ok all the time. As she's mad keen, I'd say go for it.

If it was a safer activity Id say yes but experience last summer of a similar holiday left a young child in DDs group with a fractured pelvis and parents of course were not on hand until 48 hours later.
Horse riding at age 7 requires strength as well as confidence and whilst the leaders will be well qualified accidents happen. Horses no matter how well trained can be unpredictable.
I realise accidents happen in most sports however the damage that can be caused through riding can be severe.
IMHO would leave riding unacommpanied until she is around 9 when your child has enough strength and ability to fully control a pony she has no experience of.

Good points about horse riding THK. I know nothing about horse riding, but my daughter went to PGL at 7, and cried when I collected her as she was having such fun she didn't want to leave. She's been asking to go (and has gone most) every year since.

I don't think 7 is too young. At my dd school they go on a residential break in year 3.
If you look in the back of Horse and Pony magazine there are lots of adverts for horsey holidays. Most are run by stables/farms in their own homes. You will find them cheaper than PGL and smaller groups of children, probably in a more nurturing enviroment. My dd is desperate to go on one.

Can't you organise a holiday and she can do a horsey thing while the rest of you do something else, so rent a cottage and go horse riding in ireland, argentina or wherever?

uggmum, I definately think with a school group it would be much safer as the children would know each other and similar ages.
The accident that occurred in DDs holiday was mainly peer pressure. The inexperienced keen 7 year old was encouraged by 10 year olds to jump on bare back whilst they were turning out the ponies in a hidden part of the field, even though the older children knew this was forbidden.

i went on pgl holidays for ten consecutive years! it was incredible! i first went for three nights aged seven years old, and then every summer after this! i never wanted to leave it was brilliant! AND, because i loved it so much, i am also able to reassure you that once i turned 18, i went and worked for them as an instructor, at both english, and french centres! they are absoloutly amazing with the children, and every member of staff gives it their all! if there is any problems with any child it is picked up on very fast, they are also allowed to ring their parents etc each night if home sick etc! but i can assure you, they dont have time to get homesick,,,,they are having way toooo much fun! x

I went 6 years in a row from 12-17, ok older than your DD, but I'd send my 8yr old like a shot if I could afford it.

PGL do fabulous holidays for kids.

i worked a summer for PGL about twelve years ago, they take "indies" (individual kids, rather than school groups) for all of july and august and in all that time i never saw a kid go home due to homesickness or lonliness. all the kids in the groups i had got on great with the majority of other kids and made new friends.

i worked PGL 'pony camp' too once (i'm not horsey, there were loads of horse instructors, i was pastoral care) and the girls (all girls except one boy) LOVED it. they did grooming and picking feet and trekking.. but to be honest the ponys are pretty docile, they're the same ones that the non-horsey kids who can't ride use... there's no crazy galloping or jumping involved (or wasn't when i worked there).

DD2 (8) went on a two-nighter with her riding club very recently and didn't know anybody else when she started the course, but had a brilliant time, of course. DD1 went on a one-week course holiday with the same riding club when she had just turned 9, again knowing nobody. Also had a fab time, made loads of friends. I think if your DD really wants to do it, you should let her - the key decider is the child's own level of self-confidence and independence.

I would be less worried about the safety aspect. Riding is an intrinsically dangerous sport, TBH, and DD1 broke her arm when she got thrown last year and landed on a pole. I was right there and couldn't have prevented it - it was just bad luck. Obviously, if your DD goes away at all, you would have to be reasonably nearby. On both occasions when my DDs went on their riding club holidays we stayed within two hours travelling time.