Family Trip Teenager Advice
I am running a marathon in a beautiful location across the country in a couple of weeks. I have booked it as a trip for my wife and 3 kids to join. My 13yo is in a musical theatre show and will need to miss a few final rehearsals as a result of the trip (but not the literal final ones). She is feeling stressed about that and is asking if she can stay home and have a grandparent stay with her. She does not have a good emotional track record of being separated from her family and at her age isnt always making the right decisions for herself. While I get that it could be stressful for her, I selfishly really want her to be with us and I'd like to not run the risk of her regretting her decision and be calling us sobbing 2,000 miles away. I realize she is at an age where she is becoming independent and that is partially why I really wanted this to be a full family experience and why I wanted her to see me doing something hard that took commitment. Based on everything I know, her missing these rehearsals will not be that big of a deal in reality, although I fully acknowledge that it is for her. Am I being selfish?