A few days before it was time for my daughter to travel on Amtrak, I started having doubts about whether it was a good idea to send her alone to visit her grandmother.

My primary fear was that some criminal-minded person might try to force her to get off the train prior to her destination. Then I realized that I was exaggerating the possibility of an incident on the train and focused on the safety procedures in place for unaccompanied minors.

About 5,100 children travel alone annually on trains, according to Amtrak. None under the age of 8 are allowed without an adult. Staff are available to offer guidance and minors are not allowed to change trains during travel.

My 15-year-old daughter is starting the 10th grade in a few days so she’s not a little girl and, of course, didn’t appreciate my angst. A few of my friends teased me for being overprotective; others understood my reluctance.

My teenage daughter and I are entering  new territory, in which she wants more independence and I have to find the courage to give it to her. Her push for freedom is the essence of adolescence. There isn’t a name for this period in the life of a parent but maybe it ought to be called Parental  Puberty, the time when parents must accept the maturity of their children and learn how to endure the stress of it. The teen wants to learn to drive;  the parent has to take deep breaths, relax and learn how to start the process of letting go.  You get the idea.

My daughter listened impatiently to my instructions on what to do in case of an emergency and boarded the early morning train with ease.  I stood outside and watched until the train pulled off. She called me when she arrived about two hours later and was leaving the station with an aunt.

“How was the train ride,” I asked.

 ”All I did was read my book and I took a nap,” she responded, sounding as if she regularly traveled alone on trains.

 ”That’s great,” I told her.

 ”Mom,” she said, “it was boring.”

 Translation: Nothing happened.

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