Quote From: flmom38Boy, these stories make me even more determined that I will not give my kids trips for graduation or spring breaks and such. I always thought that even the best of kids could have trouble on them and now I see it can happen. I just don't think they have the maturity yet to permit such trips. I know this kind of thing could happen to anyone though. Don't get me wrong, I do not think Natalies family is to blame. Absolutely not! They were just doing something nice for their daughter. Boy, what a shame that something so simple as a vacation can turn out so wrong. My heart goes out to these poor families and these girls. I hope that they find them not only for their sake but also for the sake of others. Bringing it out into the open by actually finding these girls can be a devastating blow for these countries who pretend it does not happen. Hopefully that could make a huge difference because travel would slow and therefore their financial status would too, resulting in maybe new and tougher laws regarding these things.
I hope you don't act on your statement that you won't allow your children to travel. At some point they will travel without sitting in Mom's lap. If they are completely inexperienced when that happens, they will be very vulnerable. Supervised group trips are one of the best ways to prepare them safely for that transition.
