Overview

• A national poll by the University of Michigan Health’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital finds fewer than half of parents would let teens stay alone in a hotel room during family trips.
• Only about one in three parents say they would allow teens to walk alone to a nearby coffee shop, and just one in five trust them to visit museums or amusement parks without adult supervision.
• One in five parents report that they have never allowed their teenager to spend time apart from the family on vacation.
• Mental health experts link the decline in everyday independence to rising rates of anxiety and depression among adolescents.
• Specialists including Sarah Clark and Boston College’s Peter Gray emphasize involving adolescents in vacation planning and establishing agreed-upon check-in routines to nurture confidence and real-world skills.