Here is your feel good story for the day.

[Stopsignhank]

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When her 7-year-old son had to fly solo to visit his dad, Alexa Bjornson was a little worried.
Bjornson's son, Landon Bjornson, has autism, and traveling can be difficult for him. Because the mom didn't know how Landon would fare on his own, she gave her son a note to present to the passenger next to him.
The message explained that Landon has high-functioning autism and might frequently ask "Are we there yet?" She also included $10 for the person for helping her son feel safe and comfortable.
"I thought, how do I make it so whoever's sitting next to him won't look at him as a burden but more of like, I can help this kiddo get through the day," Bjornson told CNN affiliate KATU.

Ben Pedraza ended up sitting next to Landon, but he didn't need any cash incentive to enjoy a great flight with Landon. They were heading from Las Vegas to Oregon on Thursday.
"We were cracking jokes, and after a while, he asked me to quit making dad jokes," Pedraza told KATU.
At the end of the flight, Pedraza snapped a photo with Landon and sent it to Alexa with a sweet, reassuring message.

"(Landon) did ask if we were there yet several times but he was a great travel buddy. We had a good time and played a few rounds of rock-paper-scissors," Pedraza wrote. "He's a great kid and you're a lucky mom."
Pedraza said the $10 "wasn't necessary" and that he donated it to The Autism Society in honor of Landon

 

[BoomerD]

So, rather than accompany her autistic child...she wished the problem off on some unsuspecting stranger? Sounds like she got lucky.

 

[pcgeek11]

I don't think I would do that with my child... That is a big gamble IMO and she and Landon were lucky.

 

[Charmonium]

I've heard of kids traveling on their own but 7 is a little young - with or without autism. But I thought airlines have specialized employees that handle being a sort of guardian in such cases. Did I make that up?

 

[deadlyapp]

I've heard of kids traveling on their own but 7 is a little young - with or without autism. But I thought airlines have specialized employees that handle being a sort of guardian in such cases. Did I make that up?

Generally they get a dedicated chaperone, however that only covers them to the gate and back, on the plane it's up to the flight attendants to assist however I've never seen an attendant not be awesome with kids.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

It's a good story but yeah, I'd never send my kid on a flight alone at 7 yo. I won't pass judgement on why she did it, but yeah, 7 is a little too young for me. I'm not even sure I'd send my 10yo solo lol.

 

[Perknose]

I applaud the heart of this kid's seatmate that he was both willing and able to devote all his time and energy to this unasked for and unanticipated flight-long service.

All that said, this mother's near narcissistic "optimism" astounds me. What if the guy needed to get some work done, or, you know, started asking this 7 year old autistic kid if he like gladiator movies? 😱

 

[zinfamous]

I applaud the heart of this kid's seatmate that he was both willing and able to devote all his time and energy to this unasked for and unanticipated flight-long service.

All that said, this mother's near narcissistic "optimism" astounds me. What if the guy needed to get some work done, or, you know, started asking this 7 year old autistic kid if he like gladiator movies? 😱

pretty much what I was thinking the whole time.

 

[clamum]

Maybe I'm old fashioned but there's no way I'd send my 7 year old child traveling alone. Nice that Ben was such a good person, though.

 

[BD231]

There's no way I'd have a seven year old child SeriousSloth

 

[Perknose]

There's no way I'd have a seven year old child

I think I speak for everyone here when I say we're immensely relieved!

 

[Zanovar]

I think I speak for everyone here when I say we're immensely relieved!

hahah for sure

 

[ImpulsE69]

I traveled by air on my own many times around 5-8 years old without issue.

 

[pmv]

Maybe I'm old fashioned but there's no way I'd send my 7 year old child traveling alone. Nice that Ben was such a good person, though.

I actually think that's because you _aren't_ old-fashioned! My impression is parents and adults in general are far, far more aware of risks to children than they ever were when I was a child (and if you go back even further its more extreme still). It's probably for the best, overall, mind (child mortality rates, including murder rates, have indeed fallen), but I don't think it's old fashioned, quite the reverse. In the old days kids were expected to be very robust.

Edit - I mean, think of all those private-boarding-school kids..I just heard an interview with Ian Hislop recently, where he recalled his parents putting him on the plane from Hong Kong (changing planes in Calcutta) back to his posh boarding school in England at the age of 7.

Also - nice story, though don't _all_ kids constantly ask 'are we there yet?'