Old enough to venture on their own

[Granny square]

My daughter went back to school yesterday after being sick for 3 days. She wasn't 100% yet so I said "go to the nurse if you get there and just can't finish the day". Well, turns out they won't even let you GO to the nurse unless you are bleeding or vomiting. So I told her to text me if she needed to come home and I'd come pick her up for a "doctor's appointment". Turns out she didn't need to, but it was nice to have that communication available if needed.

Perfect solution in my book.

I'm glad she is feeling better!

 

[mom2rtk]

Perfect solution in my book.

I'm glad she is feeling better!

Thanks! Me too! And I felt better sending her knowing she had an out if she needed it. Our older boys didn't have phones in middle school and it was always so frustrating to send them on those "on the bubble" days.

 

[mjkacmom]

My kids are all 10 and up, so I'd let all of them take off without us (in at least pairs). They've walked to school almost their entire lives, the teens have traveled on school trips since the age of 12, broken up into groups, dd16 started flying alone at 11, and at 15, started to take the train into NYC and the shore with friends (plus going to the beach with friends around the same age, if they were driving). We go to the great wolf lodge every year, and they've been on their own (with us stationed somewhere) since the age of 7 or so.

I don't see much danger - things are safer today than when I was a kid (and I was allowed to roam, no cellphone), there are CM's everywhere if they need any kind of assistance (get hurt, lose something), plus we'd never be more than 15 minutes away (if not as the park, an easy cab ride).

Heck, when I was a junior in HS, my friends and I would go down the shore for a long weekend, no adults.

 

[Kellykins1218]

We let ours go off on their own at 10. It's easy now that everyone has phones.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

My kids are 11,12 and 13 about to be 12, 13 and 14 next month. The trips we have taken all together (and not just an adults only trip) we stayed at All Star Music and we let the kids go down to the pool and to play ping pong without us every night after we got back from our dinner ADR's.

I have never let them go free range roaming in the parks and probably won't until the youngest is at least 14 or 15. The oldest (stepson) can sometimes be a trouble maker and I would need one of mine to be the responsible one so I would wait until the youngest is old enough to know what to do in case of an incident or emergency.

I wouldn't let any teen regardless of maturity go roaming on their own before the age of 14.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Still Nervous about this with our kids. So many crazy people in the world.


But in pairs and they both have cell phones. My kids are 16 and 11. We plan to let them run to get fastpasses. (if we are still able to).

 

[LilGMom]

What would you consider as an ok age, to allow your child to venture on their own with another sibling? An additional fact to add, which may or may not affect your opinion .... The siblings have been to Disney 5 times already.

I'm just curious what the popular opinion is.

Like everyone has said, it really depends on the kids. My oldest is will be 12 in a few months and there is no way I'm letting him run around in WDW by himself or with his younger brother (who will be 8 in a few months). And this is despite the fact that he has been to WDW well over fifteen times.

 

[Lizard Valley]

This is all so interesting to read . It got me thinking, and I realize that a lot of the differences in responses come back to how independent the child is required to be at home.

We live in the city, and kids start high school in 7th grade here (so 11 or 12 years old). At that time, they are expected/required to use public transportation (various combinations of subways and busses for 30-60 minutes each way) to get to school. They have to be able to think on the fly (subway line is down; bus is stuck in traffic; bus stuck in a snowbank) and change their routes/itineraries accordingly. They also have to be able to call for help/advice if necessary (hence the need for a cell phone). Neighborhood kids walk the 3 city blocks to the outdoor municipal pool in the summer starting at the age of 8 (as soon as they are legally allowed to go to the pool unsupervised).

Disney is a walk in the park (haha, no pun intended!) compared to home!

In the meantime, my best friend lives in a different city in a residential neighborhood. Her 13 yr old daughter has an 8 minute walk to her elementary school (eighth grade), with various friends who live along the way. She has never taken a city bus, hasn't seen a subway, hasn't been asked to babysit yet, and has no need for a cell phone. My friend's daughter is way more mature psychologically than my 13 yr old son; she just doesn't have the experience needed to feel confident with being let loose in Disney.

 

[Kristibo42]

At 15 we let my daughter and nephews on their own as long as they were in the same park. When they turned 18 they could go off to any park as long as we know where they are going.

 

[LilGMom]

This is all so interesting to read . It got me thinking, and I realize that a lot of the differences in responses come back to how independent the child is required to be at home.

We live in the city, and kids start high school in 7th grade here (so 11 or 12 years old). At that time, they are expected/required to use public transportation (various combinations of subways and busses for 30-60 minutes each way) to get to school. They have to be able to think on the fly (subway line is down; bus is stuck in traffic; bus stuck in a snowbank) and change their routes/itineraries accordingly. They also have to be able to call for help/advice if necessary (hence the need for a cell phone). Neighborhood kids walk the 3 city blocks to the outdoor municipal pool in the summer starting at the age of 8 (as soon as they are legally allowed to go to the pool unsupervised).

Disney is a walk in the park (haha, no pun intended!) compared to home!

In the meantime, my best friend lives in a different city in a residential neighborhood. Her 13 yr old daughter has an 8 minute walk to her elementary school (eighth grade), with various friends who live along the way. She has never taken a city bus, hasn't seen a subway, hasn't been asked to babysit yet, and has no need for a cell phone. My friend's daughter is way more mature psychologically than my 13 yr old son; she just doesn't have the experience needed to feel confident with being let loose in Disney.

There is probably a lot of truth in what you said. My kids have grown up, as did I, in a pretty small slightly rural area. The only buses that my kids have been on are school buses and the WDW ones, public transportation was/is quite lacking in my hometown. And a lot of it the parent's comfort level with their kids going off has to do with the kid's maturity too. My kids are pretty independent but my oldest isn't the sharpest tool in the shed nor is he that mature. I think his younger brother will be ready to tour the parks alone before he will. Of course that could change but until it does they are stuck with touring with mom and dad.

 

[DuckyCurtains]

I was allowed to go around on my own when I was 12 or so, with a parent in the same park. At 16 I took my first trip without a parent (I went with my sister, who was 17). We didn't have any problems, except that my sister and I argued a lot!

 

[bolognehead]

I'm 17 and will be 18 on our next wdw trip, my parents started to let me take my 10 year old brother and we get to go wherever we want to on Disney property as long as we have our phones. Last year was the first year they let us do that it was a lot of fun, my parents got to relax at the resort for a bit while we were in the parks!

 

[Rose DiVerona]

The first time I rode the monorails "by myself" (with a friend the same age as me), I was twelve. However, we did not go into the parks. My first time wandering around Magic Kingdom by myself was when I was 17, and the year after that my friends and I went alone for our senior trip. I think my parents would have been fine with me going solo earlier, but to me Disney is a family thing and we like to stick together and make memories that way!

 

[disney debi]

When we went in 2010 the boys were 17 & 15 and the girls were 16 & 11. The boys pretty much had free reign. Transportation, parks and whatever. The girls had to be with the boys or with us. The youngest thought this was soooo unfair. Not sure I am feeling much different about our upcoming july trip. Will probably have to loosen up a little on the girls but I think they will have to be in the same park.

 

[LekiaHall]

I *wish* my older two would venture in the parks on their own. Would make it way easier to tend to my youngest DD's desire to meet characters and ride kiddie rides without feeling guilty. But, they wouldn't venture off. They'd rather sulk and slink around until their turn comes.

On our last trip, I encouraged them to go off on their own, but they wouldn't so I eventually stopped making the suggestion. They ended up not having as much time to get to everything they wanted to do, but I tried not to worry about it because I'd given them plenty of opportunities to go off and do their stuff but they declined.

On the next trip, they'll be 15 & 19..I can't imagine them still clinging so closely then! Heck..I'm even hoping they'll take their 12 year old brother along!