Parents arrested after leaving 17 year old son behind on holiday

mattyfez · 4 Sep 2015 at 18:05

It's a tricky one, if he was throwing a hissy fit, what aar the parents to do? Beat him and bungle him onto the bus? Then get nicked for abuse?

SexyGreyFox · 4 Sep 2015 at 18:52

v0n said:
So, have they really left a child behind?

It isn't England and they have their own laws.

Back in 1974 when I was 16 my parents buggered off to Nigeria for 5 years leaving me in their bungalow on my own.
Luckily I didn't have to worry about money and everything was paid for.

Tefal · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:07

ik wonder if they left hi mwith the ticket/money for one and expected hi mto panic and get on the next bus?

Smokey Deza · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:11

I think the term 'abandonment' for this scenario is really reaching.

Tefal · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:13

Smokey Deza said:
I think the term 'abandonment' for this scenario is really reaching.

genuine curiosity how do you think you'd cope if i dropped you off in Spain with no money or cards?

Dis86 · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:13

So what are they meant to do? They can't physically make him or that's child abuse. They just supposed to bow to the whims of some spoilt brat of a child?

Dis86 · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:18

Jim99 said:
I wouldn't want to be left in a foreign country if I'd never planned to manage it myself and provide for myself.

Then when your parents tell you to get on the bus, get on the bus. Simple.

Smokey Deza · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:23

Tefal said:
genuine curiosity how do you think you'd cope if i dropped you off in Spain with no money or cards?

You make it sound like I'd be stranded in sub-zero temperatures, or a war-torn country like Iraq and Syria. It's not.

I'd make it back. I'd walk and eat wild berries if I had to.

SexyGreyFox · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:25

True story dis -
When my eldest was 20 she went on a tour of a lot of countries ending in A (Croatia, Serbia etc) plus Sweden, Denmark & Finland. She went with two classmates who were her best friends but when she got there all they wanted to do was find a McDonalds and get on the WiFi.
They were couch surfing in Finland and she said she'll go visiting museums for the day and when she gets back they can go for a meal but when she got back her two best mates had gone home leaving her in Finland on her own :eek:

They took themselves out of Uni for the next year so she never got to see them but around two years ago she mistakingly told me the bloke by the bar was the classmate who left her in Finland so I introduced myself

Dis86 · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:30

Dimple said:
True story dis -
When my eldest was 20 she went on a tour of a lot of countries ending in A (Croatia, Serbia etc) plus Sweden, Denmark & Finland. She went with two classmates who were her best friends but when she got there all they wanted to do was find a McDonalds and get on the WiFi.
They were couch surfing in Finland and she said she'll go visiting museums for the day and when she gets back they can go for a meal but when she got back her two best mates had gone home leaving her in Finland on her own
They took themselves out of Uni for the next year so she never got to see them but around two years ago she mistakingly told me the bloke by the bar was the classmate who left her in Finland so I introduced myself

I take it you were completely polite and calm as ever

SexyGreyFox · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:37

Dis86 said:
I take it you were completely polite and calm as ever

Actually I was but he poo'd himself expecting my fat body to be on top of him.
I think about it all the time and can't get over that somebody could do that without prior warning.

Dis86 · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:38

Dimple said:
Actually I was but he poo'd himself expecting my fat body to be on top of him.
I think about it all the time and can't get over that somebody could do that without prior warning.

It's a crappy thing to do. However...I bet it made your daughter a stronger person.

mattyfez · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:39

Tefal said:
genuine curiosity how do you think you'd cope if i dropped you off in Spain with no money or cards?

He wasn't abandoned though, by the sound of it he was given the opportunity to go home and decided not to take that option.

It's hard to comment without knowing more of the time background story, so taking it on face value the parents may no have had much choice, he may be quite a big strong 17 year old, the parents had the other kids to consider, and could quite possibly suffer crippling financial loss if they all stayed behind, not to mention difficulties with thier jobs if they couldn't get another flight for a week, as I imagine flights are pretty booked up to Spain this time of year, it's not like they are lone travellers, there's 6 of them.

SexyGreyFox · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:41

Dis86 said:
It's a crappy thing to do. However...I bet it made your daughter a stronger person.

The following year she went to both China & Iceland on her own and recently Mexico, so yes.

SexyGreyFox · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:42

mattyfez said:
He wasn't abandoned though, by the sound of it he was given the opportunity to go home and decided not to take that option.

It's hard to comment without knowing more of the time background story, so taking it on face value the parents may no have had much choice, he may be quite a big strong 17 year old, the parents had the other kids to consider, and could quite possibly suffer crippling financial loss if they all stayed behind, not to mention difficulties with thier jobs if they couldn't get another flight for a week, as I imagine flights are pretty booked up to Spain this time of year, it's not like they are lone travellers, there's 6 of them.

There is definitely more to the story.

mattyfez · 4 Sep 2015 at 19:56

Dimple said:
There is definitely more to the story.

Yeh I think so, but as usual, the papers don't let the facts get in the way of a good 'won't somebody please think of the children' story, hehe.

Tefal · 5 Sep 2015 at 02:28

Smokey Deza said:
You make it sound like I'd be stranded in sub-zero temperatures, or a war-torn country like Iraq and Syria. It's not.

I'd make it back. I'd walk and eat wild berries if I had to.

no i make it sound like you'd be in Spain with no money...

most people completely fall apart when they lose their wallet on a night out let alone alone abroad.

bloodkil · 5 Sep 2015 at 04:31

How do you even manage that...

asim18 · 5 Sep 2015 at 04:48

Tefal said:
genuine curiosity how do you think you'd cope if i dropped you off in Spain with no money or cards?

Easy, quick email to that lovely Nigerian prince who's always begging to send me monies (or a decent/rich mate if you have one) who'll be more than willing to Western Union me some cash.

413x · 5 Sep 2015 at 09:25

Greebo said:
I suppose in the eyes of the law it doesnt matter. A 17 is classified legally as a child (despite having some major exceptions) and therefore the case will be treated the same as if the parents left a 5 year old behind in Spain.

You then can't draw the line yoruself based on age. is 14 old enough or 15 or 16 etc. The law has decided that until 18 the "child" is your responsibility.

Although I do think the English law needs changing now and making it 16 like Scotland. With all the things you can legally do at 17 like join the army by , drive, have sex, get married, are legally responsible etc it seems daft that until they leave home, they are treated the same as a 5 year old in the eyes of the law.

Thanks to your post I don't need to write anything much!

In reality is no biggie, as long as he had a bit of money
But you have to draw that line for the law. I think (as it is in many scenarios) it should be 16