Age child can go solo at lodge?

[legalskier]

Thought I'd pass this along & open it up for discussion-

When Can A Child Go Solo at a Ski Lodge (or Anywhere else)?
“So, what would you think if I set the kiddo up in the lodge with some hot cocoa and an iPad while I took a solo run down the mountain?”
My husband’s question caught me off guard. He had just returned from an all-day skiing trip with our 6-year-old son and amid retellings of spectacular runs and a spill or two, he asked that question. I responded with a hint of trepidation.
“… Did you?”.......
Full blog post: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/when-can-a-child-go-solo-at-a-ski-lodge-or-anywhere-else/?src=recg

Personally I think 6 is a wee bit young.
:???:

 

[marcski]

This is a great question....very apropos for me...my youngest is 6 and I often take her alone. I think there are a few variables. How mature the child is, how comfortable (s)he is in the surroundings of the lodge. And, of course, what ski lodge makes a huge difference. We ski at a relatively small, quiet ski area and there are always an awful lot of regulars who are in and out of the lodge who we know. Also, I think kids are generally safer in a ski base lodge than playing outside unattended like the author of the blog post said she allows her 6 y.o. to do yet would not leave him alone in a lodge.

 

[drjeff]

This is the 1st year that my wife and I have let our 9 year old daughter have lunch solo with her race team friends (no adult supervision usually) in the lodge at Mount Snow by herself. Because of the fact that she's basically grown up there every winter of her life, we feel a bit more comfortable about our descision in that at any given moment on most weekends there's going to be likely 10 adults, either Mount Snow employees or friends of my wife and myself in the lodge while she's in there (kind of indirect supervision in a sense).

I'm still not sure at 9, in an unfamilar lodge, if I'd leave her solo in the scenario described above where she'd be at a table with her iPad while I'm out getting a few runs. I wouldn't think of leaving my 7yr old son in that scenario. I do consider both of my kids to be quite independent socially responsible towards others too. For the listed scenario, I think that it would be whenever my wife and I get our kids a cellphone so that I could check in on them and also they could quickly get a hold of me if need be. 2 way communciation would really ease the typical parental anxiety in my book

 

[witch hobble]

Don't all six year olds have their own smartphones these days?

 

[mriceyman]

Get some walkies and you have constant contact. It probably depends on the childs maturity as well. My one brother was ready to go out and be on his own at age 3 (no joke, he was comfortable with anybody/ anywhere) while my 2 other bros it would probably be at lease 8 or 9 yo

 

[o3jeff]

I guess it would depend on the size of the place. My niece and nephews(ages 9 and 10) are allowed to ski and eat at the lodge as long as the three of them stay together at Mt Southington. When we go up north there is always an adult with them.

 

[hammer]

We may have been too cautious but for family ski trips I think we stayed with the kiddos at all times until they were about 11 or 12. Not sure about the adult supervision details for the Nashoba school programs (think a chaperone was always in the lodge) but I was OK with the kids in that when they were 8.

 

[Mpdsnowman]

Boy talk about good timing on a thread. This was weird check this out.

I was at Jay Sunday/Monday. My sons 21st bday. Anyway I got up Monday am to go get the car out of Vallet. The idea was we would pack the car, ski and ride the whole day and leave. It was about 7:30 when I left our room to go downstairs to the lobby and get the van. When I walked out of my room and went to the elevator there was this young girl maybe 6?? possibly 7???. She was in pajamas and wondering around the hallway (keep in mind the floors are huge and long) not having a care in the world just being a little kid wondering. I thought it was weird no parent...well i get in the elevator and she jumps in and starts hitting all the buttons on the elevator lol...Of course I am on way way to the first floor so we end up stopping at each other floor on the way down lol (4 floors)

I asked the girl, "do your parents know your out of your room" she says " ohhh yes my mom knows im playing around"
Personally I thought that was weird. She gets off at the second floor and moves on. About an hour later when we actually left our room for the last time. We go to the elevator (keep in mind more people are around now) and there she is still in the pj's walking around?? It didnt seem right so when I did get downstairs I told the main desk about it. They informed me that the mother works there and stays there during the week and hey know of the girl. I guess they give or provide hotel rooms for employees.

I told them, that may be fine but she should not be running around freely around this hotel. Anything could happen..
The girl behind the desk sort of gave me this stupid look...

It was weird...

 

[skifree]

no way solo. how can you enjoy a run with your kid sitting alone in a ski lodge.
my kids have gone to the lodge with friends since about 8 yrs old while i ski.
if i take only one kid skiing i stay with them at all times.
but solo is stupid!!!

oh yeah back to the question...probably 15+ solo

 

[bvibert]

My Daughter is 7. I let her take a solo run in the beginner area a couple of weeks ago while I took my son to the bathroom. I was confident in her ability to ride the lift and make a run. I'm not sure I'd be ready to leave her alone in the lodge, mostly because I don't think she'd want to.

 

[jimmywilson69]

my son's 12. I'm not sure how I would feel about this yet. typically he want's to stay out skiing with me and I like it that way.

 

[HowieT2]

depends on the kid, the lodge and the particular day. but i think by the time they are 3rd grade they should be ok.

 

[legalskier]

I guess it would depend on the size of the place. My niece and nephews(ages 9 and 10) are allowed to ski and eat at the lodge as long as the three of them stay together at Mt Southington. When we go up north there is always an adult with them.

I had the same outlook- our kids learned at Mt Peter, which is so small they couldn't get lost if they tried. Bigger areas were a different story.

depends on the kid, the lodge and the particular day. but i think by the time they are 3rd grade they should be ok.

One of our kids is very serious & responsible, the other's like a butterfly that flutters all around depending on the breeze- definitely made a difference for my surveillance duties.

When I walked out of my room and went to the elevator there was this young girl maybe 6?? possibly 7???. She was in pajamas and wondering around the hallway (keep in mind the floors are huge and long) not having a care in the world just being a little kid wondering. I thought it was weird no parent...well i get in the elevator and she jumps in and starts hitting all the buttons on the elevator lol...Of course I am on way way to the first floor so we end up stopping at each other floor on the way down lol (4 floors)
I asked the girl, "do your parents know your out of your room" she says " ohhh yes my mom knows im playing around"
Personally I thought that was weird.

Weird indeed. I can understand young parents not having the wherewithal to afford a sitter but this situation is just too sketchy for comfort. :???:

 

[volvovod]

It looks like everyone is in agreement that there is no set age limit and the ultimate answer depends on the level of maturity of a particular child.

Having said that, let me take this discussion n a slightly different direction: I believe there is something wrong with the way we treat our (and, sometimes our neighbors') children. When I was growing up (mind you, in a different country on the other side of the Big Pond), my parents would let me walk alone to the corner bakery since I was five years old. Since I was seven, I was freely walking around my whole neighborhood, and at the advanced age of ten, I started exploring extensive public transportation system of one of the largest megapolises anywhere. I am still alive and so are all of my childhood friends who, by the way, were equally adventurous.

Fast forward three decades. I have moved across the ocean, met a beautiful girl, and together we created a few more human beings whom I shamelessly use as skiing partners these days (the beautiful girl hates ski lifts).

A few years ago when the kids were still relatively young (3 and 6) we went to Bretton Woods. In the evening we were supposed to meet friends in one of the nearby restaurants (as I recall, it was located about halfway between BW and Cannon). After a day of skiing everyone was pretty tired, the kids were wasted and it took them no more than five minutes to fall asleep in the car. When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw our friends, who strategically occupied a table by the window that faced the lot. This was not too hard - there was no more than a handful of people in the restaurant (including the workforce). The decision was instantaneous and straight forward: park the car right by the window, keep it running with the heater blasting hot air (it was no more than 7 degrees outside), open the windows (no less than 2" each - carbon monoxide is a real thing!) and go inside to say "hello" and arrange the next day meting. Not more than two minutes after we enter, a bitch :-x I can not come up with a better word) sitting at the next table and having nice and quite dinner with her (adult) family inquires whether the children in the car are mine. "Yes, why?" "But they are alone in the car?!?!" "I noticed..." "You have to go back to the car, or I am calling the NH police right this moment!!!" I tried arguing with her for about 30 seconds to no avail. We all have these moments that leave you wishing you could rewind the time and change your course of action. I still regret that I did not come back to the car, awoke the boys and brought them inside. They would have been sitting no more than five feet away from her. I would have liked to see her quite and pleasant family gathering overwhelmed by a screaming and yelling :argue:coming from two young kids who were awaken after a fifteen minute nap after a full day of skiing!

I guess, it was skiing related, after all...

 

[jack97]

Once I had a good idea my daughter can get down any run without panicking then I had one simple rule. If you (or your friends) are big enough to reach up and bring the handle bar down, then you can ski on your own.

 

[skifree]

Skiing with friends is one thing
Sticking your 6 yr old in the lodge SOLO with iPad
Is ridiculous

 

[JimG.]

It looks like everyone is in agreement that there is no set age limit and the ultimate answer depends on the level of maturity of a particular child.

Having said that, let me take this discussion n a slightly different direction: I believe there is something wrong with the way we treat our (and, sometimes our neighbors') children. When I was growing up (mind you, in a different country on the other side of the Big Pond), my parents would let me walk alone to the corner bakery since I was five years old. Since I was seven, I was freely walking around my whole neighborhood, and at the advanced age of ten, I started exploring extensive public transportation system of one of the largest megapolises anywhere. I am still alive and so are all of my childhood friends who, by the way, were equally adventurous.

Fast forward three decades. I have moved across the ocean, met a beautiful girl, and together we created a few more human beings whom I shamelessly use as skiing partners these days (the beautiful girl hates ski lifts).

A few years ago when the kids were still relatively young (3 and 6) we went to Bretton Woods. In the evening we were supposed to meet friends in one of the nearby restaurants (as I recall, it was located about halfway between BW and Cannon). After a day of skiing everyone was pretty tired, the kids were wasted and it took them no more than five minutes to fall asleep in the car. When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw our friends, who strategically occupied a table by the window that faced the lot. This was not too hard - there was no more than a handful of people in the restaurant (including the workforce). The decision was instantaneous and straight forward: park the car right by the window, keep it running with the heater blasting hot air (it was no more than 7 degrees outside), open the windows (no less than 2" each - carbon monoxide is a real thing!) and go inside to say "hello" and arrange the next day meting. Not more than two minutes after we enter, a bitch :-x I can not come up with a better word) sitting at the next table and having nice and quite dinner with her (adult) family inquires whether the children in the car are mine. "Yes, why?" "But they are alone in the car?!?!" "I noticed..." "You have to go back to the car, or I am calling the NH police right this moment!!!" I tried arguing with her for about 30 seconds to no avail. We all have these moments that leave you wishing you could rewind the time and change your course of action. I still regret that I did not come back to the car, awoke the boys and brought them inside. They would have been sitting no more than five feet away from her. I would have liked to see her quite and pleasant family gathering overwhelmed by a screaming and yelling :argue:coming from two young kids who were awaken after a fifteen minute nap after a full day of skiing!

I guess, it was skiing related, after all...

I hear you brother.

 

[Breeze]

Just sayin, is all, that there is not much more heart tugging than working in a ski lodge and having a kiddo bravely trying to keep from cryin while they try to tell a stranger " I don't know where my mom/dad is."

Yep, there is a protocol, and yep it usually doesn't take a very long time to get it sorted, but who knows how long it feels like to the child. Employees don't know whether the child CAN have, chocolate, dairy, a cookie or a cracker or a lollipop, employees have a responsibility to be pretty darned sure they are releasing the child to the right person, that can be uncomfortable, too, especially if the child is visibly upset/angry and not able to be calmed.

Just sayin...... maybe that half hour of solo time gets stretched a little further than a child's patience can handle, and then the situation involves a whole lot of other strangers. Parent's name goes out to all the lifts, name gets posted on whiteboard, announcement goes over PA system

It's not ever the end of the world, for sure, and it happens not infrequently, but the parents I've seen in the situation wished it had not ever happened.

I've been unlucky enough to have to send Ski Patrol out on the mountain to find a resort owner who's 10 year old daughter fell on stairs in his own ski lodge. Why on earth would he have been hesitant to leave her, she was with a big family group, many kids her peers, surely well known by all staff and had certainly grown up in the place?

Hey, stuff happens.

Breeze

 

[Gilligan]

Personally, I am a lot more worried about what some stranger (it only takes one) might do to a young child, than I am about anything the child might do on their own.

The local school buses require a parent/guardian present at the bus stop until 6th grade (about 11 years old) around here.