Should I let my 16 year old go to a Festival?

somethingcorporate

Depends on the child. My parents brought me up to be "street smart" in these type of environments where drinks and drugs are everywhere (even for a teen). I had been to dozens of gigs by the time I was 16 (alone with friends), V97 with friends as a 13 years old for the day and V98 at 14 years old and camped with school friends with no adults.

Would I allow my daughter at 13 without adults? hell no. At 16, perhaps, assuming she had experience of what gigs/festivals are all about and how to avoid trouble and seek help if she needed it. When I think of the things I did at 16....

niallmitch

Has he been to a festival before?

I took my daughter to reading at 15 and this year at 17 she is now wanting to go to board masters this year - would have no qualms about letting her go with mates.

Teacher2

Sixteen is a bit young given the amount of drugs around at festivals. Also, prices are sky high and thieves are rife. My two children went at eighteen and were relatively safe as they went with friends.

newsgroup_monkey

I have 2 kids. One is 16, one 20.
The 20 year old was out every night - we struggled to keep him in. Kept out of trouble mostly - we only heard good things from people who saw him out and about. He unfortunately also discovered girls very young. Had no problem letting him go to a Festival at 16 - he was very streetwise and had a GF. At 18, he moved out and moved in with said GF and has a reliable job, good work ethic etc. They're still very much together.

He has absolutely no interest in drugs and rarely drinks (he's a petrol head, and like most young fellas who are into cars, all of their spare cash goes into those).

My 16 year old? Absolutely no chance. He has absolutely no idea of life. It revolves around his Xbox and Football. He has never once requested to go out after dark. In the Summer Holidays, for instance, he would happily spend the entire time on his Xbox, chatting to his mates, but they're all the same. If it gets really sunny, they might pop out and have a kickabout in the park, but for what, 2 hours at a time?
Wants to go to University, but he's definitely going to be wet behind the ears if he does.

Interesting. We spent years trying to keep the eldest in. We've spent years trying to get the youngest to actually go out!

Only you know the child. Streetwise? I'd say yes, particularly if they're with others they can trust.

preciousillusions

Tbh I think perhaps not letting him go might actually provide a worse outcome than the possibility of what he could get up to if he does, in that he's likely to resent you and might rebel in other ways. Just something to consider. As has been said, it very much depends on the teenager and group he is going with.

onomatopoeia99

newsgroup_monkey wrote: »

Interesting. We spent years trying to keep the eldest in. We've spent years trying to get the youngest to actually go out!

Parents. Never happy to let their children just be the person they want to be, always pushing the other way . Perhaps a lesson in the text I've quoted above.

I never got into arguments about going out as a teenager, I just bided my time until university and was gone.