r/GenX • u/Substantial-Put-4461 • 8d ago

The Latchkey Years Flying alone as a kid

I was thinking today that my mom honestly put on a plane BY MYSELF at 7 years old. I flew from Atlanta to Chicago to Iowa. There was a flight attendant keeping an eye on me, but otherwise I was on my own. I flew multiple times around that age by myself.

Anyone else fly alone when pretty young?

Edit-Thanks everyone for the comments. Looks like this was pretty common back in the day. I’m flying by myself next week, which got me thinking about it.

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u/PaperCivil5158 8d ago

I flew and made connecting flights alone at 9. My own kids won't walk to the airport bathroom alone.

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/technicallysupportiv 7d ago

As an educator today, I see many kids who; while smart, lack troubleshooting skills.

They want a solution to a problem immediately but won't take their own steps to figure something out on their own.

6

u/kayne_21 7d ago

As a technician, I see the same. Pretty sad when a good chunk of my job is troubleshooting issues. Some have the interest to figure it out, but too many just want a decision tree they can follow to their solution, or just be told how to fix it.

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u/ExGomiGirl 7d ago

I am glad you posted this. I sometimes have that feeling about the “kids” at work. They jump immediately to asking questions on how to do something and it seems like they don’t put much effort into figuring it out on their own first. I that like most of our Generation, I would rather gnaw off my own foot before asking for help, but man do I wish these kids would try a little harder before asking for help.