Unaccompanied child on a train journey..

Ms_Piggy_2

tanith wrote: »

The suggestion that either I or his Mum travel with him is a valid one and I did consider it myself but its not something I want to commit to on a fortnightly basis , its a journey of over 2hrs there and 2hrs back making a likely journey of 5hrs and of course someone doing the same journey again on Sunday evening.. my daughter has other children at home and as I just can't commit to this regularly.. its a dilemma as none of us want to keep him from his Dad.. maybe we could suggest that the fornightly visits stop for now and he has him for longer during school holidays thus cutting down on the journeys until he gets another job...

We travel feom Newcastle to London on the train to collect my step-daughters. I can't wait until they are old enough to travel alone

littlemissmoney

An alternative could be for you to meet his dad half way and pass him over?

kindofagilr

becky_rtw wrote: »

HAHAHA why what's wrong with London - children under 16 do live here you know

Nothing is wrong with London, but I woudlnt want my child getting a train all the way to London and then having to navigate on their own the tube system/bus system (this post does not refer to the OP).

Its fine if you live in London, but if you arent from London then no I dont think children should be there without a adult.

anonymousie

My kids are very public trasport savvy, having used local buses and trains since the age of 9 or 10 (initially accompanied then solo) and both my 13 and 15yr olds would have no problem with a "no change" train journey.

However I'd say he must always keep his phone on and be aware of what to do if there is a problem with the train eg it breaks down/is diverted /replaced by a bus etc - the answer to this is almost always calm down, listen and do what they tell you. Also what to do if you get off too early or too late!

The other thing my kids know is never to sit in a very empty part of the train- go where there are people and preferably families but stay away from groups of kids your own age- I know this is sad advice but kids do pick on other kids at times.

And, as ever, knowing my kids are very sensible, that it is OK to pull the cord or call 999 if they or other passengers are in serious trouble- I'd rather pay the fine if my child felt under threat (and it be seemed later a "false alarm") than them to feel they couldn't call for help because they are "only kids".

THe 10yr old can now manage a safe solo 2 stops down the line (7 mins) to meet her sibs if I can't go with her) so she's well "in training"!

coxy07

As we have no car both my children (now grown up) travelled unaccompanied by public transport quite young. Both were travelling with mates to shop in Manchester (about 1 hr 20 mins) by train at 13. How are this generation going to learn independance if they are never given responsibility? There are at least mobile phones now to keep in touch which mine did not have. Give them some freedom and watch them rise to the responsibility.

Savvy_Sue

tanith wrote: »

The actual train journey is about an hour but its a 15min walk to the bus, wait for bus , short bus journey but on Friday rush hour in London this can be as much as 30/40 mins , so I would allow an hour to get to the train station plus wait for the train and the hours train journey. This could easily turn into a 3hr journey on Friday afternoon then have to come back so easily 5hrs.. Plus the return on Sundays..

I think I might take him to the train station the first few times, letting him take the lead more and more IYSWIM, if that were possible. But once on the train, I'd be less worried.

It's far easier to know where to get off on a train: you have a list of stations and you can cross them off as you go along, plus they often have displays showing which stations are still to come. I know they often have names on the bus stops these days, but I guess I'm a bit traumatised by getting a bus soon after we moved and panicking because I thought I'd gone too far, when actually I hadn't gone far enough. I was 8 at the time, and travelling alone in London. Good job I'd been taught how to use a phone box! :rotfl:

Savvy_Sue

Another tip - which is useful at any age - is to keep your stuff 'together' when travelling. When you finish with one book, you put it back in your bag. When you take your jumper off, you put it in your bag. And so on.

ukjoel

A lot of kids at 11 will spend an hour travelling to school on trains.

Dont think its an issue unless he is particularly immature for his age.

iceicebaby

I used to travel from North Wales to South Wales on a train with my younger brother. I was 12 he was 8. Put on the train by my mum and met off the train by my nanna. We were fine. I'd say he would fine.

tanith

I thought I would just come back with the outcome... it appears that Dad was actually coming down to collect his son but didn't want to come out of the station (he comes from a small unmanned station and travels without a ticket) :eek:not a very good example to set. So he sent the ticket so that he could meet the boy on the platform and then they travel back together. What happens if he gets caught god knows :mad:... so panic over thank goodness , he did say he also thought that to travel alone on that journey was a bit too much for his son.. But a bit more communication would of saved a lot of worry I guess its his business if he wants to try such a risky venture but I really think he should be setting a better example to his already impressionable son but as my daughter said , what can I do about it apart from refusing to let him go? Which is not the answer...