Traveling With a Kid...not your own?

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RichieRich

Lead Service Attendant
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Dec 2, 2016
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328
So my neighbors parents live in Sanford. I said , hey...we could take the kid (8yo) with us and the grandparents can just meet us to pick him up at Sanford. He flies alone anyway to Texas to meet the other set of grandparents. Just thought he'd get a kick out of the train (2 adjoining bedrooms). See any problems?
 
You would know better than any of us if this 8 year old is a "problem"
LOL He has a passport and is quite the traveler...and better behaved then adults I meet. I mean...any "legal" or Amtrak problems. Hey...I tried to take flowers on the A/t and it was a problem! LOL PS- I got an email about adding an extra passenger in a room for free or something, so I just thought he'd get a kick out of it vs,. flying alone!
 
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Need a letter from both his parents.
Need a letter for custody and medical treatment.

Otherwise why not. Seem a bit young, but if is traveling a lot by himself, should not be a problem.

Icky question do you have a child of your own going on this trip? Yes, no issues. No well....

Have taken vacation with my sister friends growing up. I know a few family with children that not are related to any adult in the family, but are treated as a family member.

Weird stuff this modern family life, but everyone happy. So...
 
Agree strongly with the recommendation to get a notarized letter signed by both parents; be sure it describes the dates and trip you will be taking. Have it also authorize emergency medical care needed during the trip. That's what we do when we travel with our granddaughter.

But, having gotten the legalities out of the way, one question to ask is whether the 8 year old in question is comfortable being around you without his parents being there. It's one thing to have an exciting train adventure with Mom and Dad around, perhaps another thing entirely if they aren't there. This isn't at all the same as being an unaccompanied minor on a plane, where the flight attendants buffer the experience pretty well, and it's likely much shorter than the bedroom train trip in question. I'm assuming, though, that his parents will have a good sense of whether this is in his comfort zone. If they say yes, you're fine. If not, don't take it personally--he may just not be quite ready.

Having traveled on trains with our special needs nephew as a boy, I will suggest that kids can get bored on a train, even those that start out excited about being on a train. We generally don't believe that a lot of screen time is great for kids, but on a train, I'd have some kids games apps loaded on a tablet or phone for those "When are we gonna get there?" times. Drawing pictures, playing with Playdoh, favorite books, will all pass the time. A book about trains might be fun. Again, I don't make a habit of plying kids with sweets and treats, but, assuming Mom and Dad agree, a bag of lots of different kinds of goodies doled out judiciously can dispel boredom, too.

When our nephew was seven, we took the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Los Angeles with him, and today at 11 he still talks about it. If he's ready (and you're prepared, too!) this could be a memorable experience for you both.
 
He did mention: "But I can fly there myself in 2 hours! " LOL I'll offer...we'll see.
 
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My daughter in law retained her maiden last name for business reasons. She sometimes has problem traveling with my grandchild. That's one thing, the other is a 8 yr old, hard to keep entertained. May work prefect.
 
Icky question do you have a child of your own going on this trip? Yes, no issues. No well....Have taken vacation with my sister friends growing up. I know a few family with children that not are related to any adult in the family, but are treated as a family member.
Not sure I'm following you. When I was a kid on Amtrak I simply found other kids to play with. Guess that's no longer allowed today.
 
Apart from potential problems with officious bigots, which is why having a letter from the kid's parents is useful, should be fine.
 
My daughter in law retained her maiden last name for business reasons. She sometimes has problem traveling with my grandchild. That's one thing, the other is a 8 yr old, hard to keep entertained. May work prefect.

What sort of problems? On Amtrak or the plane?

I am going to guess air travel since Amtrak does not seem to check IDs and therefore would have no idea about last names, etc.
 
Unfortunately, with the burgeoning numbers of split families, custodial interference and even kidnapping charges have become all too common. Child abductions by non relatives are not rarities either. You shouldn't have a problem, but if some busybody drops a dime, or an accident or illness occurs having a letter may be very helpful. When I coached ice hockey teams, we always obtained a medical release giving us permission to obtain treatment in an emergency when a parent or guardian was not present, with pertinent medical info on the back. Kept in a sealed envelope for privacy reasons except in an emergency.
 
Even if they didn't do it out of anger, and were just fooling around, it could case an unpleasant encounter. Crossing the border it is really serious business, there were too many cases of one parent removing a child from the country in a split situation with no intention of coming back.
 
I think that is not at all likely, since kids have no idea that it is an issue at all. The best reason to have a permission letter is just in case somebody makes an issue of it, but realistically, you are most likely to need it to authorize medical treatment--even of a minor nature. Even that is a long shot, of course, but easy to prevent even long shots from biting you in the butt.

Custody disputes can get nasty and even dangerous, which is one reason why someone--even your SCA--might check. And border checks border on over-the-top these days. Many years ago, when you could cross the Canadian border with nothing more than a drivers license, my husband planned a surprise birthday treat for me. I was told to pack a bag for 2 nights for me and for our five year old. Then, blindfolded, we drove to the Kenmore Air floatplane airport and went by floatplane to Victoria BC. (By the way, it's a fabulous way to get there!) When we landed in the harbor, a customs and immigration boat came out to meet the plane. No problem for me or my husband, we both carry our drivers licenses routinely. But I had no ID for our daughter! The customs guy took her aside, away from us, and asked, "Who are those guys?" "Oh, they're my parents, not kidnappers!" Lucky for us, he laughed. Today, we might have gotten tazed!
 
We can put this to bed! We were just offering the A/T LOR-SFA...neighbor kid I've know since a baby...with me & my niece in our regular 2 connecting bedrooms...plenty of space. Ya'all have made it sound complicated and "icky"...will just let him fly himself down. The parents drop him off at the airport DCA, grandparents pick him up MCO.
 
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I remember when bigoted sexist officials under the Reagan administration were causing trouble for my mother when she travelled with me because she had a different last name from me. Come on, people, this was common already by the 1980s...

As long as a kid is sensible there shouldn't be any trouble -- if he says "I'm with these people", then the officials should believe him. The problem is, there are officious bigots out there in positions of authority who can cause trouble. Bad people, the bigots.
 
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