I agree, a 15-year-old’s wishes should be respected. Stupid indeed is the noncustodial parent who would force a teenager to spend a vacation with him/her — unless of course, they do not want a relationship with that child when he/she is grown. If she was a wise mother, she would go to London and take the kid out to dinner, reassure him that she cared about him, and then let it go, and wait until he grows up and wants to spend time with her. The judge did her no favor by ordering this young man to give up his Christmas vacation plans to fly to across the ocean to be with someone he does not want to be with.
The son was supposed to spend Christmas with his mother. He was visiting his father. At the last minute, he didn’t want to get on the plane to return home to his mother.
Maybe the son has a good reason. Or, maybe the father turned the son against his mother without good reason. For now, there’s no way for the judge to know.
So, the judge ordered the son to return for now but ruled that the son could challenge the custody arrangement in the future. It was a sound ruling.