A Pre-Teen’s Conflict

Our teens are both mature and in need of guidance at the same time at this age. It’s just knowing where each applies is the challenge.

My son flew from San Jose; Ca to Philadelphia, PA with a 1.5 hour lay over at Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW) to visit my uncle and see the historic sites of the area.

When we were figuring out his flight schedule, my biggest fear was my pre-teen having to change planes at DFW. Luckily, the airlines required us to pay for him to be escorted. Of course, my son said it was no problem he could handle it. Not only was I concerned about him changing planes, I was also concerned about adults that might notice him being by himself (am I too doom and gloom?).

Well, the Dallas area was having major storms the day of his flight. His flight got into DFW ~2 hours late. Because my husband and I could not confirm his second flight had taken off, I called the airlines and found out his connecting flight was delayed by 4 hours.

Just then, my son called from the “Unaccompanied Minor’s Room”. You could hear the fear/panic in his voice. He relaxed once I explained the situation.

What would have happened had he not been escorted? Would he have known what to do? Even though he wanted to be treated like an adult, he definitely needed the escort.

I followed my gut for reasons other than why I needed to. And as a parent, I think it is important to listen to what your gut says; you can learn a lot.

Has anything like this happened to you? I’d love to hear about it.

Dawn-Marie
www.Parent.Family-Rx.com