Heck no.  Duh.  But apparently this little Dutch girl has plans for it and her father is not opposed.  Thankfully the court has taken her into custody for two months to evaluate her psychologically.  In my opinion, even if Laura Dekker is the world’s most mature 13 year old, there is no way in Hades she should be allowed to sail alone– for TWO years.

The article compared her to another young sailor, a 17 year old BOY who sailed around the world in just 9 months.  Now this lad was also a minor, but there is a HUGE difference between 13 and 17 (about 4 years actually).  And not to be sexist, because I think girls mature faster, but boys have different "safety" issues than girls, if you know what I mean.

So anyhow, the court is going to evaluate her to see if she should be allowed to go.  I love this line from the article about the ruling: "(It supports the idea that) you are not a bad parent if you try to help your child fulfill her dream," the family lawyer noted.  To which I say, I think it’s great to support your kids in their dreams.  If I had a 13 year old daughter who was an excellent sailor who wanted to sail the world solo, I would say, "Honey that’s awesome, and I know you can do it.  Let’s make all the preparations now, so that when you are AT LEAST 18, you can fulfill that dream!"

 What do you think?  I think it’s ludicrous to even consider letting her do it.  Do you think she would be happy if her dad went with her?  Should she just wait until she’s 17 or 18?

Also, here’s a good one I head yesterday…  A mom was talking about her ooh, maybe 8 year old boy (who was taking private dance lessons at the time) and she says to another mom, "I am trying to convince him not to take so many classes…"  What the heck?  Convince him?  Since when did you stop being the adult?  Does he have his own bank account?  If you don’t want him to take so many classes, then you don’t LET him take so many classes.  Sheesh.