"Nevermind" wrote in message
om...
My 9 YO has been invited to go about 12 hours away for an entire week
with the family of a friend of his. Any thoughts? Are we just being
babies about our "baby"?

Well, I guess it would depend upon how much you've let your child out of
your sight before this experience. My kids went to overnight camp for a
month when they were 9, and did just fine, so for me, this isn't a big
issue. In fact, DD, who is almost 12, will be going in a week to Paris with
a friend of hers for a week. This friend's father works in France and they
go back and forth all the time, and the daughter has brought pretty much
EVERY girl we know with her. Everyone get one turn, and this time, it's our
turn. I'm so jealous I could scream! But I've checked with a bunch of the
other moms about their daughter's experiences and everyone seems to feel the
same way, that's it's been REALLY a great, all expenses paid, vacation for
their daughters, so I'm letting my kid go for her birthday! She's beyond
excited.

If you know the parents, and think you child will be safe and have fun, of
course let him go. It's not that he's leaving the country (gulp) or
anything, and he'll have so much fun. It's a good thing for kids to see how
other families live. He might come home with a new appreciation for his own
family. You never know!

Marjorie