Rationally, I think my 4.5 year old would be fine with it. Actually he'd think it was great to go all by himself. He would drive the staff batty, though.
.... but I'd probably be worried stupid the whole time.
Do you know anybody who may be going over there around the same time? My cousin used to fly her son over to see his dad and they would time it with someone else going over to visit, often he would fly back alone. (sometimes back with the person who went with him if the timing fit)
My ex lives two states away and he flies up to get my 8yr DD and then flies back with her. This has been happening since she was 3.
She is not confident (despite him trying to make her feel guilty about the cost) to fly on her own.
My situation is a little different in that he is deliberately unemployed so he doesn't have to pay me child support. So my ultimatum is if he wants to see her he can get himself here and get her back.
When DD is confident enough I won't mind letting her go alone but I think five is too young. What happens if she needs to go to the loo on the plane and needs help? or uncharacteristically gets upset and has an unsympathetic hostess, so she then develops anxiety about plane travel? Too many what ifs for me.
I have done a few flights this year and always sit in the back row where the unaccompanied minors are seated, right by the toilts and galley. In all seriousness the attendants have been great with the kids and the kids themselves not bothrred at all.
no I wouldnt. Not unless it was a total emergency and I couldnt work out an alternative. First time I flew alone I was 8 or 9. The reason why I did was because my poppy died, whilst we were on holiday with my other pop. My mum was able to get a flight asap for herself and my brother who was an infant at the time, but there wasnt a flight for me. I flew home just in time for the funeral. That in my mind was an emergency that couldnt be avoided.
But if you feel comfortable with it, then do it. If your dd doesnt like it, he can fly her back. You can get him to call you as soon as he picks her up.
For a short flight, yes, but four hours is probably stretching it. I would wait until she was a bit older personally. My six and a half year old is mature enough and spends all day at school, but I know she'd be a bit shy about asking to go to the toilet, or for food and drinks, not to mention amusing herself for that long in one spot.
But I think it's up to the two of you as her parents. I would think by seven she'd be okay for a long flight alone.
Last year my two (at the time 5 and 9) flew to Perth to visit their grandparents. They came back with Sushee. But they flew over with a steward. There was another couple of girls about the same ages flying to see their dad in Perth. They had the best time. And even though I cried at the airport I would have done it again in a heartbeat. They had an adult the whole time and as DD said they were attended to way more than if they had flown with us.
But. Heres's my but. Alone at 5? Maybe not. Only because if they get scared they might not feel safe mentioning it. That's the only reason. My kids behave really well so that's not an issue. It's more the emotional stuff of being away from someone they could trust if they got scared.
Maybe talk to the airline and quiz them to help you make up your mind?
As far as I am aware, they are pretty well looked after. Is your DD fairly good around people she doesn't know? If so, then I would say she would probably be ok. You would be with her until she got on the plane and then her Dad would pick her up as soon as she gets off. I can imagine it wouldn't be an easy thing to do as a parent, but I do think she would be ok.
I would say no... I couldn't do it. The what if's are far to much. and knowing my DD who is a quite confident little thing wouldn't cope in that situation.
Yes. My children have flown unaccompanied.
The hostesses take them on the flight after all the other passengers have loaded and put them in a seat at the back near the galley. At the other end they accompany them to meet the person who is picking them up.
Whilst they are unaccompanied they are not unsupervised and only the people who are nominated can do the drop-off and pick up.
If your daughter is familiar is a happy flyer I'm sure she will have a great time. They get spoilt rotten by the flight attendants.
Yes. I used to fly all the time at that age on my own. I have no problem with it. But this is your daughter and you know her better.
It is very safe, you drop them off at the departure gate to a flight attendant, you sign. They are put on the plane. At the other end they are handed into the person you have named on the form (they must have ID) and that person only & they must sign as well.
No. Not on her own. Maybe, if like Rouge, there was on older sibling. But my almost 5 year old who flies frequently would not cope on her own. For me there are too many situations that could arise that she would not deal with. I don't have much experience with other 5 year olds though. Maybe mine is high maintenance!! ;-)
I probably would, BUT I would be hesitant to start off on a 4hr flight in case DD would get upset or uncomfortable.
But like others have said, you see them off at the gates, and they are picked up by your ex on the other end. And they are often more tended to than normal passengers because they are young.
That's just me though. I am quite attached, but it also depends on circumstances as to what I would and wouldn't do
As the mother of a 5 almost 6 year old, no. She is very friend and outgoing and everyone who meet her loves her. She is confident and mature yet silly at the same time (but I'm 31 and still silly!). I know that if I stick my daughter in a strange or new situation ON HER OWN, she would freak out completely. I can take her somewhere she has been a million times and something be different, and she changes. For example, she has been to a play centre more times than I care to count. But recently she went to a party there with a bunch of kids she sees every day, and suddenly she became clingier than cling film! So I wouldn't let her fly unaccompanied. Not yet.
My 5yo would point blank refuse to go on his own so it would be a non issue here. But maybe call the airline and have a thorough chat with them about the procedures involved. That might help you make a decision.
Not at 5 no, at 10 then probably yes. I flew a lot when I was younger but most of the time it was with my brother and sister not on my own, and it was a 2.5 hour flight from the north west of WA to Perth. I think its hard because you are in a sticky situation with your ex. If you think your daughter would be ok and you are comfortable with it, then go for it.
i first flew as an unaccompanied minor for melb to Cairns when I was 8 years old
i reckon i was just old enough at 8 to cope with the situation being on my own for 4 hours
yes the air hostesses were there, but they still wernt there ALL the time.
You run the risk of your 5 year old having to travel with other unaccompied children ( including other children up to the age of 11 years old) that may not be a good influence on your child as well. On my first flight i was with an older boy i remember and an older girl
Personally I would wait until she is just a bit older- I was a really independant, sensible kid and i reckon 8 years old was proabably the earliest I should have flown
btw i kept on drinking all the orange juice they gave me on my flight and as we landed i puked everywhere- all over myself and all over the person next to me
there was no one to tell me that i shouldnt- so i just did lol
i coped,but i was upset by what had happened and didnt have the sense to realise that what goes in has to come out. The poor air hostess had to carry me out of the plane with my clothes in a plastic bag and a blanket wrapped around me.
I would wait just a little longer or ensure that there was at least someone on the plane that she knew besides the staff- just in case
btw my friend has her kids go up and see their dad in qld from melb in the school hols and she flies up with them on the plane, and then turns around and comes back home the same day
She picks them up the same way and her kids are 10 years, 12 years and 13 years old and very sensible kids.
i would probably let my 10 year old twins fly unaccompanied together, but definately not on their own!!
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