One moment, you are rocking your newborn, and the next, they are requesting you to let them go on solo trips to experience life. While not really an out-of-the-box demand, some parents cannot help but quiver a bit at the prospect of their child alone at the mercy of others.
So, if you hear parents talk about these butterflies they get and how elated they are at their teen going on a solo trip, you do not need to be ashamed of having all these feelings. You are not really holding yours back; rather, all your feelings are coming from a place of genuine concern.
Since they obviously are not frequent travelers like many out there, how about we help you find a way around your worries?
Why Parents Worry About Solo Travel
All parents have this inherent urge to coddle their kids and keep them safe, away from all sorts of unfamiliar situations. So, how do you expect them to react when they are unaware of where their child is exactly? Obviously, their thoughts will devolve, and paranoia will become all they know.
At times, even with the location shared, GPS ping or cell signals can be easily lost, and the silence greeting parents on their child’s end can become alarming, to say the least. To add to the problem, communication can also be unreliable at times, with strong signals one second and no service the next. Plus, something as simple as dead phone batteries can cut all ways of reaching out to the child. Then, include drastic fluctuations in internet signals to the mix, and it becomes a disaster bound to happen.
Overall, this lack of 24-hour accessibility can make parents prone to insomnia and anxiety. But is that all? Unfortunately, no. New people and places can be an additional factor. While children go out and about traveling solo to get new experiences under their belt, not all of them are positive.
Sometimes, oblivious children can be approached by the wrong group of people or even find themselves in dangerous settings that will send their parents to an early grave if they get to know about it. Therefore, without a clue what their child is being exposed to, parents cannot help but worry needlessly when their child brings up solo traveling.
Additionally, if the child is going abroad, then there is the trouble of the language barrier and cultural differences, which can be stressful for the child and also put the parent at unease. The crux of this discussion is that it is quite natural for parents to be on their toes due to the unpredictability of how a trip might unfold. But worry alone does not get us anywhere; it is the way we respond to them that dictates the fate.
Preparing Your Child for Independent Travel
Prior preparation is what every family needs to put their minds at ease when a teen is going on a solo trip. So, sit down with your teen beforehand and collaborate to ensure that you have covered all bases.
- Assess Their Readiness: Talk about how they would handle unexpected changes. Further, go on to inquire about the steps to follow if their flight is canceled or if the person they are planning to meet fails to show up. The key here is to make sure your child’s first instinct is not to be confused but rather to handle it calmly.
- Learn the Rules: While planning their trip, make sure to do your research regarding any unaccompanied minor policies for the flights, trains, or buses they will be using for commuting. Since some request an advanced sign-up from parents of teens traveling alone, knowing the requirements prevents any hiccups from disrupting the child’s trip.
- Organize an Itinerary: A teen with no sense of direction is bound to land themselves in trouble. So, to make sure they do not steer too far away into dangerous zones, help them create a basic schedule of sights with you. Not only that, but a very apparent benefit of this is also the parents knowing where their child is supposed to be if they lose contact.
- Pack Smart: Start by creating a list of all the essentials your child needs. Be it a charger, a portable battery, or anything else to keep their phone charged, add them to their luggage along with a first-aid kit, medicines, and travel insurance information. Apart from this, teach them what essentials they must have on themselves at all times, like a passport, identity card, payment card, etc.
- Money Preparedness: As a parent, you must contact your teens’ bank or credit card company to let them in on their travel dates. By doing so, any fraud blocks will be prevented. Not only that, you must also show your child how to use their credit cards safely and to always have a small amount of cash on themselves in a hidden pocket to get out of difficult situations.
- Emergency Contacts: Ensure your child has a list of all important contact details, like their parents’ cell phone number, local emergency services, and even the address to the nearest embassy if they are traveling abroad. Then, go on to role play when and how to contact each other if they are lost or in trouble.
- Communication Plan: When traveling, do not expect your child to stay in touch with you 24/7. Situations like these call for a proper plan. You can lay out a check-in routine for the child to follow and request that they respond to your texts at set times. Moreover, create a plan for what to do if communication is lost.
- Safety Skills: Enroll the child in first-aid courses to ensure they develop safety skills and are well-adept in simple rules like locking hotel rooms, finding help, not sharing plans with strangers, etc.
If your teen is one of the 75% of solo travelers going on a trip for personal growth and self-care, you can wave them goodbye with confidence and stay at ease by considering all these details. In return, your teen can feel supported, knowing help will arrive if the trip does not unfold as planned.
Using Technology to Stay Reassured From Afar
Now, it is quite evident that no matter the preparedness, all your measures can fail you if their location stops functioning or they willingly seek out danger in the name of “experience.” For situations like these, parents can make use of technology like the Xnspy parental phone monitoring app.
The app is used by parents to monitor their child’s phone activity remotely. To get started, you have to install the app in the target phone and then let it operate in stealth mode. With the mode activated, nobody can uninstall the app. Then, as soon as any phone activity is detected by the system, it is uploaded to Xnspy’s web dashboard in real-time.
Features that can come in handy for parents of solo travelers are:
- Location Tracking: Use Xnspy’s location feature to see where they are currently and where they have been. The details logged include their exact address, coordinates, timestamps, and view on map options.
- Geo-fencing Alerts: By setting up specific areas as geofences, Xnspy sends you immediate alerts anytime your teen enters or leaves these areas.
- Internet Search: Complete search history of your teen can let you know what they are planning to do and whether they are indulging in any risky activities.
Com 16% of travellers having gone solo and many more to follow suit in the coming years, it is important to use technology to your benefit.
Maintaining Trust and Privacy for Children
Now, we have obviously established that a parental phone monitoring app is helpful, but there is also a need to dictate that it must be used in a way that maintains trust between the parent and teen. For them to go with your measures in the first place, teens need to feel respected and involved in all the plans. Remember, the trip is theirs, and they have the right to not only decide what happens on it but also how you use tools to supervise them.
A smart approach is to first raise awareness of the possible risks they can encounter when traveling and then set clear rules together. With the rules in place and their purpose clear to the child, they will be more willing to follow through than give unnecessary pushback.
You must also be mindful that transparency is key. Tell them how you are planning to use everything from their itinerary plan to their location activity. But above all else, you must ensure that your child trusts you. Rather than undermining it, you must build on it. Keep in touch and give them the security and support they need during this life-altering experience.
Do not be the reason they make common travel mistakes like staying on their phone too much instead of living in the moment. Just leave it to them to reach out when in trouble, because for your teen to come running to you, you must first give them the room to.
