These days, few 11-year-olds are allowed to walk to school by themselves.

This 11-year-old is traveling the world…alone.

Rosalie at the Eiffel Tower (Photo: Rosalie Atkins)

Rosalie Atkins lives in England, and penned a piece for the Daily Mail defending her parents’ decision to let her travel abroad without their supervision. This summer, Rosalie’s mother put her on a plane to spend a week in Paris with a host family.

But not everyone thinks that sending a pre-teen on the road alone it a good idea. For Rosalie’s trip to Paris, Anne Atkins was told that her daughter was too young to travel alone on Eurostar, the railway service connecting London to Paris. Their age limit is 12. Instead, the family decided to fly Rosalie on British Airways Skyflyer Solo Program, a program they’ve used once before that provides a chaperone service for children who are traveling alone.

“My mother took me to Heathrow, said goodbye and handed me over to a lady who took me to the plane, “ said Rosalie. “I was delivered to Jeanne and her father the other end.”

Rosalie Atkins (R) and her host family in Paris (Photo: Rosalie Atkins)

Jeanne Scribe is Rosalie’s friend, and the duo spent a week exploring Paris with the Scribe family. They visited the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame, as well as several museums, markets, and parks. “If I had visited with my parents, we would have seen only the touristy parts of Paris,” said Rosalie. “But because I was staying with a French family I saw some far more unusual aspects.”

In addition to seeing different countries, Rosalie also expressed the confidence she feels in traveling solo. “The experiences I’ve had mean I am quite confident when I have to talk to new people, which is a useful social skill.”



The Atkins family has received a lot of feedback on their decision to let Rosalie travel alone—some of it good, some of it bad. But Rosalie is glad that her parents allow her to go on adventures that other kids could only dream of.

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"While a lot of children can only go places with their parents, I don’t have to rely on mine to do all the things I want to do," said Rosalie. “The way I see it, your parents aren’t going to travel with you forever. You have to learn some day, and in my opinion the sooner the better.”

Rosalie Atkins (L) and her host family navigating Paris. (Photo: Rosalie Atkins)

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