Taking a trip, security checks have changed, you have to choose. ( Archived) (24)

Would not let anyone touch my children.. Only solutions I've heard is to start

:profiling.. like Israel.and that means not ethnicity but actions, where have you been, destinatons, looking guilty.

:And the use of trained dogs.. Would be a hell of allot better than calling a temp agency for an $8.00 per hour renta cop.

Doesn't do much for the moment though, does it.

I tend to agree with most of you that the idea of someone puting there hands all over my little girl is unnearving and I am leaning too the exray but I thought Id ask and what others thought, We have a while before the trip and I like to get all the information I can when faced with a decision.

Thanks all for your thoughts.

You forgot to add self-padding...

I'd go through the x-ray machine. You could fly at least half a dozen times in a year and not get enough radiation to be harmful.

Never had a pat down but have had my carry on checked a couple of times. The first time I was sitting waiting for my flight when a TSA agent approached me and asked to check my bag.
The second time was after my bag had gone through the scanner. I had a permanent marker which I forgot was there they wanted to check.

If it makes flying safe, I have no problems with it

How about you suggest to her to try both - one method on your way out, the other on the way back.

That way she'll know what to expect in future and can decide better for herself.

logicaly I can see the point of this but the daddy in me hates the idea of someone putting there hands all over my little girl. If she was older it might be different but she is only 14 and Im still daddy and anyone touching my little girl has to go threw me first. That is the dady in me, the rational man in me however wants to get as much information and thoughts available so I can make the most informed decision possible.

I don't really care which one, i always seem to get pulled anyway maybe because I travel so much. I understand Fathers concern about xrays, it would bother my daughter but she is older and independent now. Oh by the way security are just doing their job and are under tight regulation themselves, if you feel you have been mistreated you can complain.

Well, I'm not sure how severely they are patting people down nowadays, but it's been done to me numerous times and it wasn't so bad at all. I'm sure the few bad examples that have been highlighted so much by the media are the exception, not the rule.

Have a chat with with your daughter, she might be fine with the idea as long as you're there with her (I would insist on that).

Honestly, if I remember correctly what I was like when I was 14, I would have been absolutely mortified by the idea that some random stranger could see me naked. But everyone is different...

Try not to pass your own tense feelings about this on to your daughter, it'll just freak her out. Maybe you could explain that it's a necessary procedure and turn it into something funny instead.

Create a distraction for her, I dunno, perhaps you could make some silly jokes that the lady patting her down is trying to check, if your girl is ticklish, because ticklish people get window seats on the plane. Or that the security staff is checking for dangerous pencil sharpeners in her pockets.

I know - stupid expamples, but you get the idea. Anything really to ease the tension for the two of you. She will of course see right through it and possibly tell you that you're being silly, but it'll distract her...

As it has said, let her decide.

Not a big deal for a grown up though. Myself I always get a "touching" inspection, because of: Mexican Passport and my family name. I just open my eyes and look at the most attractive male guard there.

I would choose not to use an American airline or touch down in America...In fact I do that now. ...MUCH less hassle

O Scout I didnt realize that she was traveling within the country ...Lo Siento ...In that case the x-ray is less invasive. tough call though I know exactly how you feel about both