Why there are no good reasons for you to have your daughter’s friend’s number on your phone
As you plan an upcoming vacation during a school break, remember whose number you put in your phone. On a recent vacation, my daughter became fast friends with other vacationer’s kids of the same age. Each day, they would spend hours by the pool or beach and share pool-side pizza lunch and snacks together. On the last day, they asked me how they could stay in touch. One of the girls my daughter befriended had her own cell phone and my daughter asked me to take down her number so she can call. (My daughter doesn’t have a functioning cell phone.) My spidey sense threw up warning bells. I was hesitant but eventually punched this child’s phone number into my own keypad. Then a nasty thought streaked across my mind. You guess it, why does a man have an unrelated child’s phone number on his phone?
I didn’t press SEND to have my number show up on this child’s phone. Nor did I take a screenshot for safekeeping. In fact, no sooner after the numbers were pressed, I had backspaced out completely. It was gone forever. I hardly remember the names of this child’s parents much less which city they live in. We are all vacationers; none of us are locals and the chance of seeing each other again is somewhere between astronomically remote to non-existent. These situational friends are simply just that: situational. Since that day, my daughter has not asked me to call this friend so it really was just the spur of the moment thing. There are just certain souvenirs I don’t wish to take home.
As much as you teach your daughter to be street smart, you have to be travel smart as well. It’s not the fellow vacationers you need to be concerned about but unscrupulous individuals amongst the vacationers who seek easy targets for opportunistic gains. I’m not suggesting anything untoward, but it’s far easier to keep away from situations that can be misconstrued, then to extricate yourself from complications. The toughest decision you should ever make on vacation is deciding where to go for dinner!
I don’t want to sound paranoid and I certainly don’t live life in the shadows, but as much as you teach your daughter to be street smart, you have to be travel smart. While there are simple tricks you can use to deter hotel thefts (put your passport and cash in your dirty laundry bag if there is no room safe), it’s not the fellow vacationers you need to be concerned about but unscrupulous individuals amongst the vacationers who seek easy targets for opportunistic gains.
Depending on where we go, my daughter and I would hire a rental car so we can explore on our own. I always travel with a phone in one pocket; ID, credit card and cash in the other plus a bottle of water. We travel very light. I never take other passengers because I don’t want to worry about insurance and liability in a foreign country if they get injured in an accident. And I absolutely never take charge of another child. Once, my daughter asked if I would drive her and her new friend to the local arcade down the street. I flatly refused and stated that there are plenty of things to do here without going elsewhere. I just don’t want this kind of responsibility and accountability. It’s the same when my daughter asked to bring her friend over to our room to show off a toy or watch a movie. My stock answer is always ‘no’. Again, even if the other parents are okay with their child visiting mine, I am not okay with taking on the custodianship of another minor in our own hotel room. I’m not suggesting anything untoward, but it’s far easier to keep away from situations that can be misconstrued, then to extricate yourself from complications. Even if there’s no wrongdoing, you are judged guilty long before your case winds up before a foreign court and potentially in a different language. Your job, your wealth, your reputation and your custody could all be at risk. The toughest decision you should ever make on vacation is deciding where to go for dinner!
If you and your daughter do hit it off with new friends and her parents and want to maintain contact, exchange email address with the parents. It’s effective and provides people with the buffer of time and space to respond without the pressures of immediacy. If you decide after all that subsequent follow-up is not desired, then a no-response would also not be seen as a rejection either. Meeting new people is the joy of travelling. Relax, recharge and be carefree then you go home and plan the next trip. That’s the whole point of vacationing.