nancy106

Where would you or wouldn't you send your 18yr old DD on Spring Break?

amwosu

That can of worms was unintentionally opened last week. Type "Traveling at 18 yrs old" and you should find the thread. The low down- half of us will send our kids anywhere at 18 because they are adults and can vote, can go to war, will be off to college in 12 weeks and will have to grow up sometime while the other half of us shelter and overprotect our kids and don't want to let them grow up. Both camps are accused of being naive.

nancy106

Thanks- Can't find the thread. Do you know what forum it is in? Being away from home for the first time gives them freedom and a chance to make some choices OR because it is their first time away from home they go wild. I am stuck in the middle, if you send your kids out of the country and drinking is legal they have they sell these wrist bands and they can drink all day and night. Doing this would make my daughter think we condone that. If they stay in the states and get caught drinking there is a very harsh penalty and would it be partially our fault knowing there is a good chance they will drink.

CAPH52

Is your daughter in high school or college?

GoTravel

Nancy, I think this may be the post amwosu is refering to:

http://fodors.com/forums/pgMessages....xt=18+year+old

wow

Nancy, I know that this is hard to deal w/ but the bottom line is that wherever you "send" your 18 year old daughter she is going to drink. You are worried that if she goes somewhere where the legal drinking age is 18 that she will "drink all day & all night". If she stays in the US "There are harsh penalties". (your words). You are not going to find the answer to your question here on a Travel Forum. At 18 your daughter can pretty well do what she wants to do. Where you "send" her makes no difference IMHO. That's the reality.

ilovetulips

Hard question. I guess you have to decide whether or not you really trust your daughter. Of course the popular spots are beach destinations like Cancun, South Padre, etc. Yes drinking is prevelant in places in and out of the US regardless of age. Another thing to consider is not just your daughter drinking but who she is with and who she meets up with. Of course alot of kids also take skiing trips (sometimes with churches or other organizations) and it seems like since people are doing an activity that is not associated with drinking then it doesn't seem to be so daunting. I have done the Spring Break thing when I was younger and you have to determine whether your daughter and her friends are mature enought to deal with everything that Spring Break has come to be.

nancy106

Thanks all. After some hunting around I have decided that where they let 18yo rent on their own I don't want her to go and where I think she should go they don't want her!! So far we have passed on a Cancun trip, and a Bahama trip. She will be going with several families to Fort Walton Beach. Today is the first day I allowed her to go visit a friend at college. I don't allow her to go see her boyfriend at school. She really is a good kid, but she is still a teen. I went to the Bahamas on my spring break senoir year. 18 was legal drinking age then, we probably didn't have any problems because drinking was not a big deal.

shaz60

I have so far resisted replying to the 18 year old threads but I can't keep reading these without an answer any longer. I was married at 17, a mom at 18. We have been married 27 years and have 7 kids. I do not want any of my children to do that. So far none of the 5 who are 18 and over have. Yes it is possible to have 18 year olds who don't drink. I have 1 of them. I think that people are missing the point. I wouldn't send my 18 year old anywhere on Spring Break. If they had the money, I wouldn't stop them. If your child has reached 18 they can not only vote but marry, enter into a contract, buy a house, go to war, be tried as an adult, etc. If they are not prepared to do any of these things, it is the parent's fault. Some of my children have been ready and some have not but I truly believe that I have let down the ones who have not been ready. So in answer to your ?, don't send them anywhere. But let them go anyplace they can get themselves to.