How old before you let your child go off alone?

[TiggerBouncy]

At what age would you let your child go ride their own rides and meet you back up for say a couple of hours?

14?
16?
21?
Not until they move out?

It's definitely a different time. When I was a kid, my parents let me run off alone for the entire morning and meet them for lunch at 12. i don't think I would do that now! And I know each kid is different and has to be judged independently, yaadaa yaadaa. Just in general.

 

[cdnjason]

I'm 42 years old and still haven't let my children go off alone. I'll probably wait until I'm at least 50 or 52 years old.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Depends on the parents' assessment of the maturity level of their child(ren), their ability to follow instructions and handle themselves. Other than that, only the parents' individual fear level can predict whether they'll allow it or not. There are plenty of parents that know their children are mature and can follow directions, but are afraid of "something" happening so they keep their kids nearby. There are others who just prefer to have the family together at all times.

Technically, a child as young as 7 is permitted to enter WDW attractions without an accompanying adult. A 14 year old can enter a park unaccompanied.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

18. If you have to ask then, we'll, I don't have anything to say about that either. Perhaps you should wait until they can drive...

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

My parents allowed us to do this when I was 13 and my sister was 11. When I was 16, I went on a school trip and we were allowed to roam the park freely.

 

[LisaCM614]

At what age would you let your child go ride their own rides and meet you back up for say a couple of hours?

14?
16?
21?
Not until they move out?

It's definitely a different time. When I was a kid, my parents let me run off alone for the entire morning and meet them for lunch at 12. i don't think I would do that now! And I know each kid is different and has to be judged independently, yaadaa yaadaa. Just in general.

My kids are asking to do that this summer. They are 13 & 12. They suggested that my husband and I go to the Brown Derby for dinner and they would go ride ToT and RnR and grab a burger somewhere. I prefer our family vacations to be together time because we are apart so much when we're at home, we're all so busy and running in different directions. But I think I understand the sense of adventure and want to let them have a bit of fun. We probably won't go to HBD but the Tune Inn Lounge and grab some adult beverages.

 

[ldo]

with a buddy (friend, sibling) 12+ yrs old for a couple of hours with a cell phone and me nearby in the park. At 14, with a buddy in the parks without me in the park (but at WDW hotel/restuarant) with some regular cell text check-ins. At 16, alone at all parks and DTD (during the day).
LisaCM-I would let them do that. It's a fun taste of self-reliance in a controlled place.

 

[Magpie]

Too many variables to say.

Where I grew up, in the 1970's, in an American inner city neighbourhood with an extremely high crime rate (ie, I regularly heard gunshots at night), it was not safe to go out. In fact, I spent SO much time sitting on my rear in our small apartment, that I developed a significant swayback and had to get physiotherapy when I was six.

But when I was nine, we moved to Canada and my mother thought she'd hit the promised land. Sure, we were still in a major metropolitan area, but compared to where we came from it looked safe as houses to her, so she was all, "Run! Be free!" and I was, "Wait... what's the difference between left and right again?" I got lost SO many times in our city. But, I always found my way home again, eventually!

When I had kids of my own, in the 1990's, we were living in a quiet neighbourhood. Amenities all within walking distance. Few cars on the side streets. People would leave their doors unlocked all day. So yep... my kids got that quintessential childhood experience of being turned out doors and come dinner time, I'm going from yard to yard looking for them.

I really don't think it's a "different world" now. I still see packs of kids roaming freely in my neighbourhood. I tutor 11 year olds who walk several kilometers to get home, and who take public transit on their own. One of my seven year old students walks a couple blocks home on his own, on days when I have another student right after him. He thinks I'm over-protective, because I walk with him on the other days, but it's really a ruse to get him to practice his conversational skills with me (I get him to play rhyming "games" and such, while we walk).

I WAS horrified when I saw a mum let her two year old outside to play street hockey alone with the bigger boys... but that was because MY 2yo was still trying to put broken glass in her mouth, eat drywall, chow down on bugs, etc. Her child was probably just more sensible than mine. (And, to be fair, the boys were keeping an eye on the little guy.)

Anyway... I think with cellphones, I'd probably be okay with letting my kids run off alone in the parks together at 10 and 12. For sure, we did it at Universal when they were 12 and 14 (and they didn't even have a cellphone, that time!).

 

[busymommy2pink]

We took my younger sister at 14 and let her have her alone time while we did stuff for the little guys.

We also let our daughters (9&7) in November ride Kali river Rapids alone together several times in a row while we watched for them at the bridge. It was a slow day, no lines and cold, so hubby and I didn't want to go lol

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I don't think I would let my older DS go off by himself until he was 14 or 15, now if he had a buddy or friend with him that age might come down to 12 or 13. My older DS is 9 now and he knows the rules...When we are in the water park if he wants to go off and do the slides or something while I stay at the wave pool with his brother I allow him to go off with his dad (dad is really just there to supervise, LOL) my hubby is like a big kid himself, LOL...anyways he knows he has to tell me where he is going to be (like which section of the park) and also if he leaves that section he has to either come back and check in with me or call me and let me know he's going somewhere else. He also has to check in with me every hour to hour in a half. Even though Dad is with him I still apply these rules so he gets use to the rules for when it is time for him to be going off on his own. Anyways like I said if he has a friend with him I would lower that age, bc I truly believe in the buddy system LOL...but until then he can just spend time with his parents, LOL

 

[MakiraMarlena]

It may be noted that there has never been a child abducted by a stranger from any Disney park. It isn't that different a world, but it is perceived to be. There's also cellphones, so you can ask them to check in if you have a phone and they have a phone.

 

[PSUGuy]

It was 12 or 13 for our youngest son but he was a veteran of the WDW transportation system by then.

Bill From PA

 

[HopperFan]

EVERY kid is different.

My kids started going with school teams at 14 and I think that is one reason Disney has 14 as the age to enter.

While I probably would have been fine with them leaving us at 12-13-ish since they had been going since birth and knew their way everywhere ...
but they never wanted to, guess we are just too much fun.

 

[mickeymom629]

I can't remember a time that my 4 kids (now in their 20s) went off on their own, only because we usually stuck together or some went off with DH and others with me. Maybe two might have gone on a coaster at the end of the day while the rest of us sat on a bench, or something like that. There was not a time that DH and I dined alone or went elsewhere while the kids did something else at WDW, but that's just us.

I remember one day that DH and I went to AK alone toward the end of our trip, and the kids just wanted to stay in the room (OKW villa). The youngest might have been 7 or older, and they were just watching t.v. (like being home; no big deal). It may have been really hot, or someone had sunburn. I can't remember. But my kids never went to a park without us only because that's where I want to be!

That being said, hypothetically, there are two kids of mine that I could picture doing that (going somewhere on their own) and they are 4 years apart. I could see letting them be in the same park as us when they were 7 and 11 because they were both intelligent, independent, and enjoyed all the rides. The other two kids of mine were the type to want to leave the park and go back to the resort, but I probably wouldn't have let them do that until they were 13 or 14.

 

[OFF2NVRLAND]

We have let my younger brother and my oldest son go off by themselves in MK before. They were 15 & 10 at the time. Their favorite ride is Splash so they want to do it multiple times on a MK day. They also went off for awhile last summer at Blizzard Beach. I trust my brother to keep up with my son and they have good judgment. I'm sure they enjoy the freedom too.

 

[Pigletpal40]

Last trip my nephew was 16 and my son 13. We (the adults) would take the boat back to Wilderness lodge around 10pm and let them close the park down at 2am. It depends on their maturity and your level of trust in both them and others at the parks.

 

[heywagners]

with a buddy (friend, sibling) 12+ yrs old for a couple of hours with a cell phone and me nearby in the park. At 14, with a buddy in the parks without me in the park (but at WDW hotel/restuarant) with some regular cell text check-ins. At 16, alone at all parks and DTD (during the day).
LisaCM-I would let them do that. It's a fun taste of self-reliance in a controlled place.

This sounds exactly like what I would do.

 

[T_O]

At a big, crowded place like WDW, I would let them go off alone if they are 18 or older, as long as they are not immature or irresponsible.
At 15-17, they can go off with one responsible friend/family member who is the same age or older.
12+ they can go with a group of 3 or more, as long as everyone in the group is responsible and at least one is 18 or older.

Most importantly, trust your instincts. If you are unsure on any level, that is probably your good judgement telling you it's a bad idea. Some kids might be mature enough to handle it alone as young as 16, while others might still not be ready at 18.
Whatever the age, make sure they have a fully charged cell phone so they can call for help if needed.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

My parents let my sister and me do that when we were 13 and 11 respectively. I do think that there is a difference in kids being in the park with another kid versus being in the park by themselves and would probably allow my child to go around with a friend or cousin before I'd let her roam free. I interpret Disney's rule to mean that a child 7 and older can ride alone, but isn't supposed to really be roaming the park by themselves until they are 14 (if I have that wrong, please let me know). Because of this, I wouldn't let my daughter walk around the parks alone unless she was 14. And, as another poster said, it would completely depend on the maturity of the child. My daughter's babysitter is 13 about to be 14. If she were my daughter, I'd have no problem with her going around the parks on her own. I have to remind myself that she is only 13 now. My nephew, on the other hand, is the same age and there's no way I'd let him go around on his own were he my son. If my daughter is more like her babysitter, 14 for sure. More like my nephew? Then we are looking at 15 or older.

 

[NewbieMouse]

I have twins who just turned 12 and I would let them spend time in the parks alone with a cell phone and a time limit. I'm kinda surprised at the 14 year old age limit, but I guess Disney is trying to be safe. It depends on the child, I think.