Any one taken a childs friend (12/13)?

[Flojo224]

Hi all

We are heading back to Florida in October this year and whilst the 3 of us have always had a fab time together, we are conscious that DS is getting older and more adventurous and may prefer it if he had someone his own age with us.

Sooo... we're playing with the idea of asking one of his close friends if he wants to join us (when I say ask him, I do of course mean ask his parents). The child in question has been before so it won't be something brand new to him (which I know could be a little overwhelming if its your first time).

We'd only be asking them to pay for his flight and park tickets, so around £1000 - all the accommodations and car we've booked are the same price if we have 3 or 4 of us so that's covered.

I do have a few concerns though so wondered if anyone on here has ever taken their child's friend with them and what your experience was?

My concerns;
- It's an awful long way if something happens
- What happens if he has some kind of melt down!
- What about discipline if he does something inappropriate?
- How does the insurance work? Would he have to get his own - can a child get their own?
- What if the boys fall out over there? Let's face it 24/7 for 2 1/2 weeks is a bit different to a few hours together.
- would we be on edge/our best behaviour all the time and therefore be unable to relax?

If anyone has any experience of this any advice would be most welcome.

Thank you

[ziggyzag]

I wouldn't do it, I wouldn't want the responsibility of someone elses child, I would be on edge all the time incase something happened (unlikely) and wouldn't be able to fully relax (wouldn't even want to walk around the villa in my PJ's for example

[BigPetesWife]

I haven't done it and whether I would or not would depend on the child and my relationship with them/their parents. I also believe that a holiday like this (mixed family groups) requires a lot of honesty. I think the questions you have raised are valid and unfortunately I don't know the answer . You also don't say where you're staying (hotel/villa) as I think that would make a difference (my husband would definitely not want to share a hotel room).

The last question only you can answer, my behaviour wouldn't change because I had another child with me, but for others it would make a difference.
The first 3 questions and the 4th could be resolved by a conversation with the boys parents. However, you need a fairly good relationship with the parents to be able to have that conversation. To help me decide if I would take the other persons child I would probably ask whether I would let them take mine. If the answer is yes, I would probably pursue it, if the answer is no, the probably not.

Not sure if I've helped much, but just thought I'd add my two penneth.

[RM2016]

Both my daughters are accompanying friends this year on a break abroad and we to have had a friend come with us. I think it has to be someone you feel comfortable with, ie someone who has been for a sleepover, day trips etc with you previously as you will then have an idea of how they behave for longer than a couple of hours. In my experience boys tend to fall out a lot less than girls and don’t hold grudges as much so I think then being together would be fine. If they have been for sleepovers etc anyway then everyone should be fairly relaxed around each other. It’s your holiday, your rules which must be reiterated by both sets of parents before you go so everyone is on the same page. Enjoy!

[bighal]

We have bee taking our DDs best friend to Florida since she was 10 and now they are 23. We had a letter authorising us to give consent for any emergency medical action required. Also we had a letter for immigration if required. Never got asked for any of them. The parents paid for all flights, room costs, tickets and food.

[lumers]

When my son was 15/16 we took his friend with us on holiday for 2 weeks to Portugal- 4 hour flight - along with other friends and their children , all had know each other for years. There was no falling out with the children themselves and they had a great time.
However, if I am honest I seemed to be more worried about what happened to him than my own children ... ( As I felt we could say/expect mine to behave or respond correctly to anything we needed to say to them ) ... I was anxious about him generally, it turned out to be such a responsibility, was he ok where he was, who he was with etc. And of course it was him out of the whole group of us who had a slight accident , slipping and hurting his wrist, which resulted in a doctors visit. It turned out to be only a sprain, but should we ring his mum? Wait till we get home , etc etc
We took this friend many times before our trip and , in fact many times after , but all in the Uk, never on our main holiday.
I personally would not take a friend as far away as Florida, but I know people that do... I guess only you can decide what is best ... sure you will enjoy it whatever you choose x

[tinkerella123]

Yes we have done it at the same age, it was brilliant for us as our son had company and Someone to go on all the rides with, had no issues at all, sons friend was able to face time home every day from the villa.

[Toria_dee]

We are doing this next year.

I have 3 children so eldest is bringing his bestie. They’ll be 15 & 14 yo at the time.

I’m a teacher so looking after someone else’s child is no issue for me

The boys are very excited and have been discussing rides/fast passes etc already. My younger two are Star Wars mad and my eldest was dreading HS and having to do all the Star Wars stuff with them, so having J with us will be a god send to K.

His parents are paying for his flight, park tickets and insurance. I tried to add him onto our policy, but my ins co wouldn’t allow it as he wasn’t a dependent of ours.

His parents will give us a letter giving us in loco parentis for the time he’s with us.

To be honest, I haven’t given discipline much thought, but perhaps that’s the teacher aspect coming in?

He’ll be free to call/facetime his parents when ever he likes.

I’ve asked him to conduct some of his own research (he’s never been to Florida) and let me know if there is somewhere he wants to go and we’ll go. When we go on holiday everyone gets a day/activity of their choice, so A & O are going to build a Droid and Light Sabre, K is going to do HP stuff at universal and I’m having my dinner with Dopey H has still to decide on his and J is looking into it all. I wanted him to feel part of the family so felt this was a good way as it’s his holiday too.

xx

[Flojo224]

Thanks all, definitely food for thought

[thefourDs]

I’d definitely take my nephew who’s really close to our youngest son. I don’t think I would take one of their friends just because I wouldn’t want the responsibility of looking after someone else’s child for that long. I would probably feel differently if I knew the child’s parents really well but we aren’t overly close to any of our kids friends parents.