At what age did you allow your child out on his own?

rachbc

My son has just turned 14 and has been able to go into the big city centre 8 miles away by himself on the bus for a year.

YOu have to let go gradually and let them build their skills and confidence in dealing with this sort of stuff...the longer you leave it the harder it will be for both of you.

AllyS

My dd is 13, she is allowed to go anywhere as long as I know where she is. Recently a few of them took to hanging out a park rather than attending youth club, my dd secretly text me (as her friends wanted to sneak off rather than be given permission) to ask if was ok. I said yes, she felt 'cool' hanging out with the reblious cool kids and I knew where she was if anything happened

I would let him have freedom (obviously within reason) as then he will be honest. My SIL used to lie to her parents all the time because they were too strict, my Mum although a worrier would let me pretty much go where I wanted (always had a very strict curfew and the threaten of police looking for me if I was late!) and I have never lied to her. Infact if there was somewhere I didn't want to go (haunted church ruins!) I used my mum saying no as an excuse without even asking her :rotfl:

When DD first went out on her own I was so scared I felt sick the whole time, a year or so later, I am much better and don't worry as much (practice makes perfect on both sides). I still text her every now and then to check she is ok, but if you do this, try not to panic if they don't reply straight away, because I do

TheConways

I used to go shopping in town (Hull) when I was 11/12 with my friends. It was 10 miles away. We went on the train. I had no mobile phone but was to call from a phone box to tell them which train I was getting back.

I had "free run" of the village on my bike from about the age of 7. Prior to then, I could only stay on the road we lived on (a enclosed, albeit fairly large) cul-de-sac.

In general, I think it's actually more dangerous to not let your kids take responsibility, as they do not learn to recognise real dangers and take responsibility for themselves.