DD travelling alone

[flyingtnx]

Not as much as a big deal of a flight or anything but DD is 18 and next month I am going away for a week. Our times clash and she has a dance show on Saturday so will be catching the coach on Sunday to me and returning home Wednesday in time for college. The coach is 4 hours 40 minutes there and 4 hours back with one change half way through both ways. I'll pick her up from the station when she arrives and drop her off when she leaves again but it's a long journey and she's never done anything more than a bus alone around our home town. Trains are too expensive and she's fine with the coach but she's worried about the change as she's scared she's going to miss the change or get on the wrong coach or get lost somehow, does anyone have tips for the changeover and tips for the long journey. She's going to bring a book and her laptop for college work. Also does national express have wifi and plugs and I want to be able to contact her throughout the journey without her phone dying

Thanks

When I was 18 I went on a gap year to a different continent. I then got married, had a baby and never came back. A small coach trip doesn't sound so bad now does it?

She's an adult for goodness sake! Her phone will last the journey if she's not using it constantly. Failing that get a booster pack and the phone can use 4g so no need for WiFi.

Yes she may be an adult. But for someone with severe anxiety it can be a big deal.

She'll be fine! She will probably really enjoy the independence and feeling of achievement. At 18 I was at college in London and regularly taking the coach back home with 4-5 hour journeys. Pre mobile phones too.
If you show you are worried about this she will pick up on it and it will turn what could be an exciting little adventure (sort of!!) into something she thinks she should be anxious about.

I was going to offer to drive her back and forth but she's moving over 100 miles away for uni next year and will be relying on coaches to visit home so I figured this was a good start to it

Let her be! She will be fine. The greatest gift my folks gave me was trust and independence. Could you go some way and offer the same? Then your DD will be confident and able to manage many more journeys. I was inter-railing alone round Europe aged 16, best education ever.

At 18 I got a coach to London, train to Stanstead, plane to Italy, another bus and then another train. She'll be fine.

Can you get her a power bank for her phone? I don't think the coaches have plugs.

When I was 18 I got the train from Glasgow to London with my 3 year old Dd. We were going to visit my DS.
Can still remember my mum's face as we left, she was more concerned about dd than me.

I'm sure your dd will be fine.

Who has anxiety, you or her?

Her phone battery will last, but a power bank is a good idea as back up.

Look at the timetables and see when the next coach is should there be a delay and she miss one.

Call the coach company and ask what happens if you have a through ticket but the journey is delayed. They may well wait.

Have a look at the coach station online see which terminal she will be changing. Find out what time it leaves what time she will be there. If there's a cafe. Write it all down so she has a clear plan to follow.
My best friend has severe anxiety and if I can't be there with her I write a plan and it helps.

There will be people to ask at the coach station.

How about a non-crap mobile where the battery lasts a week? She doesn't need constant internet, no one does, but this would mean you could stay in touch with texting. Not talking as that will annoy the other passengers.

My dd has severe anxiety so I understand the problem. Absolutely the right thing to do to get her practising now, but it's not the same as it would be for just any teenager. It will probably help to reassure her that the coach station will probably have signs with departure bays (you could even check in advance) and that there will be people around to ask.

Will she be able to reach you on your mobile if she has a panic attack or something en route? This used to help dd; it was like a safety blanket just to know that she could get in touch if she needed to and that I would talk her down if her anxiety flared up.

sorry, missed the bit about contacting her throughout journey

tbh I probably wouldn't do that, for fear of giving her the idea that I thought this was a scary thing and that she wouldn't be safe- but I would let her know that she could contact me whenever

Is it Birmingham Digbeth she's changing at? Half the coaches in the U.K. Seem to change there.
She'll manage fine. There are screens saying where to go to get your connection. Make sure you're available by phone around the time she's doing the changeover, but tell her only to phone you if she really needs to - you can then talk her through whatever problem there is. Otherwise, leave her be to develop her own independence. It's something I made sure we did long before 18 for DD1 - at your DD's age she went to live in a different country. DD2 is doing her first solo flight next month aged 15 - she also has anxiety but appreciates that you deal with your fears rather than giving in to them. It's great that your DD is doing the same! Make sure you're really positive to her when it all works out.