Overview

• Fewer than half of parents said they would leave a teenager alone in a hotel room, and only one in five would allow them to roam an amusement park without supervision
• Parents of teenage girls express more worry about stranger encounters while parents of boys fear risky behaviors or poor judgment during unsupervised moments
• More than half of respondents track their teens via real-time GPS on smartphones to address safety concerns
• Experts recommend a progressive, phased approach that includes choosing supportive lodging, setting check-in rules and enrolling teens in first-aid courses to foster autonomy
• Researchers link limited vacation independence to rising anxiety and depression among adolescents and see family trips as ideal settings for building life skills