Crying and more crying and she hasn't even gone yet!

stebiz

GlasweJen wrote: »

We always had a no phones policy but now before we leave for a trip we have "bag check" where we meet at the hall, bags and check lists are produced and items are packed in front of us, any contraband is handed straight back to parents. If a phone is found on trip it is confiscated and the child banned from the next international because we don't want to go through that ever again.

We do have some parents who bleat on a out how Sophie needs to hear her mummy at night or Jenny's dad will miss her so much or that Katie will only use her phone for taking photos but Sophie and Jenny are always fine by day two and Katie goes home with no photos of her own and has to make do with a copy of the leaders photos.

That's very harsh. It's a holiday/trip. How would you like to go abroad 'alone' ie no family, with no use of a phone/camera?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

stebiz wrote: »

She is in the senior section and will be with 16 and 17 year olds.There are two very experienced and older leaders (mid 50's) travelling with them who have a vast amount of experience which makes things better.

They've even set up a blog to post pics along the way. To be honest I just wish she would go now and enjoy herself so much. Then I can count the days she will be back annoying us all again with her loud music:)

She is allowed a phone and the place she is staying at the first week has Wi-fi which should make calling us even once a day to say she's okay quite easy. That's all I'm after really 'I'm fine' once a day from her.

Well - I wouldn't count on getting it. She'll hopefully have more enjoyable things to do than reassuring a middleaged couple who should know better than to lean on a 17 year old girl to prop them up.


And once she doesn't call, are you going to assume that she must be dead in a ditch somewhere? Panicking, hyperventilating, phoning and texting and phoning and phoning?


[sigh]

Just leave her alone. Don't expect a single call, text or email. Let her do something without the two of you hanging on her coat tails for once.


She won't thank you for making her special trip all about you two and your emotional needs.

Frith

A phone call EVERY DAY?

Oh dear. :-(

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

stebiz wrote: »

That's very harsh. It's a holiday/trip. How would you like to go abroad 'alone' ie no family, with no use of a phone/camera?

How do you suppose humans managed it at any point in the 20,000 years before the invention of mobile phones?

stebiz

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

How do you suppose humans managed it at any point in the 20,000 years before the invention of mobile phones?

Probably not flying half way across the world.

Person_one

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

How do you suppose humans managed it at any point in the 20,000 years before the invention of mobile phones?

Well, we didn't have aeroplanes or New York then either!

I agree with stebiz on that actually. You can't un-invent the mobile phone, its a lost battle. What purpose is served by banning them?

balletshoes

stebiz wrote: »

That's very harsh. It's a holiday/trip. How would you like to go abroad 'alone' ie no family, with no use of a phone/camera?

I don't think its harsh for under-16s to not have their own phone abroad while on an organised trip. They're not alone, and presumably they wouldn't be wanting to go at all if they felt they were going to be "alone".

Camera is not the same as phone.

balletshoes

Person_one wrote: »

Well, we didn't have aeroplanes or New York then either!

I agree with stebiz on that actually. You can't un-invent the mobile phone, its a lost battle.
What purpose is served by banning them?

just a guess - so that they're not constantly texting/bbming/fbing on them when they're supposed to be doing organised tour stuff? So that they are actually participating rather than just "there but not paying any attention because they are on their phone".

I think its far easier to implement a blanket ban rather than saying to each child "sure fine bring your phones but when I tell you not to use them, don't use them" Yeah right, that'll happen.

gingin_2

I think you really are being very selfish if you are expecting a phone call every day - I am quite stunned!

What if she spends a day sightseeing in New York, followed by a meal out. The poor girl is going to be worrying the whole time about you, when the whole purpose of the trip is to have the time of her life. It's really, really sad and seems identical to my Father - In -Law's behaviour ( who also has depression and anxiety issues) which was damaging to my husband growing up and is frustrating, consuming and draining as his daughter in law as an adult. My husband's solution was to get as far away as he could (literally the other side of the world and hasn't been back for 12 years) with polite but minimal contact.

Please rethink.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

stebiz wrote: »

Probably not flying half way across the world.

You do know that the mobile phone has only been around in common usage for about 15 years, don't you? Powered airflight has only been around for 110 of those 20,000 years. People would travel by train, by boat, by camel, horse, donkey - car or van in recent years. As they still do.



People went on holiday, travelled, emigrated, went to school, everywhere - without having to be monitored all the time.


You're acting more like a stubborn infant than a grown man.