State Fair and kids alone- how old?

[teacups]

My hubby and I were just talking about this, and then went to the state fair and saw it with our own eyes. At what age do you think its OK for kids to be at the fair at night with friends but no adult? We saw kids 11-12 years old acting like they were 18, flirting with grown men with beer in their hands (the men not the girls). I wonder if parents know what their daughter do when they are out with a pal? These girls looked like street walkers and were acting a bit like it too.
IMHO- these girls are playing a dangerous game.
If its cool to be part of this.. my kids wont be cool.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I'd say 14 or 15 would be appropriate, but not 11 or 12.

 

[DWGal210]

OP, I'm with ya 100% here. We were at our state fair (Iowa) on Saturday night and we noticed the same thing. Unless they are at an event and there for a specific reason (like a concert), I don't see there is any reason for them to be wandering around at night - they're just going to get into trouble.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I think it depends on the fair and on the kids. It sounds like the girls you saw were not ready for this (then again I do not think 15 year olds or 21 year olds or whatever age should be acting like that). For most things every kid has a different personality and will react differently and there is no one set age to allow things.

 

[EMom]

Good night nurse! I remember the carnies at the Texas State Fair ogling my (young) teenage friends and me when we went there on school trips. No way on earth would I turn DD loose with a friend at the state fair until she was a good deal older than 11-12. I don't think the state fair has cleaned up all that much in the past years. It's not the worst place in the world.......But there are some shady sorts there.

 

[allison443]

My hubby and I were just talking about this, and then went to the state fair and saw it with our own eyes. At what age do you think its OK for kids to be at the fair at night with friends but no adult? We saw kids 11-12 years old acting like they were 18, flirting with grown men with beer in their hands (the men not the girls). I wonder if parents know what their daughter do when they are out with a pal? These girls looked like street walkers and were acting a bit like it too.
IMHO- these girls are playing a dangerous game.
If its cool to be part of this.. my kids wont be cool.

I wouldn't allow my 11 year old to go there unsupervised, nor would I allow her to dress in that manner.

I guess I am just cynical, but I am suspicious of adult men who socialize with/befriend children in a situation where the children's parents aren't around. What are they thinking?

 

[wvjules]

How do you know how old they were? Maybe they were older than 11-12. Granted, its inappropriate for any young girl to act that way.

 

[Disneyland Princess]

I think it depends on the kid. I was allowed to go to the fair and things when I was around 12. Me and my friends would go ride the rides and stuff and then are parents would pick us up when the fair closed. The girls you described though should probably not be let loose on their own and I know me and my friends never did anything like that!

 

[teacups]

How do you know how old they were? Maybe they were older than 11-12.

I knew someone would ask this. I should have said that since my word is not good enough... we knew (not closely, but rather knew-of) one of them.

 

[teacups]

I guess I am just cynical, but I am suspicious of adult men who socialize with/befriend children in a situation where the children's parents aren't around. What are they thinking?

Well I thihnk we all know what they are thinking....
I rememebr being dropped off at a concert with a frined when we were 12. We were offered booze and weed by various guys. I cant say how old they were but at the time they seemed like old men They were probably 20 LOL! Two guys followed us around and tried to get us to leave with them. We never told our moms.

 

[ChrizJen]

I would say that 15-16 would be the age when I would feel safe letting them "hang out" with just friends. At 12-13, I would let them hang out, but I would probably insist on being there at a "safe" distance from where they were so I could keep an eye on them and know that they're safe.
Of course all of this depends on the individual maturity level of the child as well.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

I was not allowed to until I was 16.

However that may have had more to do with the fact we had drivers licenses and could drive ourselves rather than having to be dropped off and picked up.

 

[golfgal]

I would say high school-which in our area would be around 14 and older. There are some 14 year old that are still 8th grade which is why I said high school--that and our kids will go to the state fair with the marching band and they are 14 . They won't have direct supervision other then the time they are marching and I am ok with that. They were able to go to our county fair with their friends, without us, when they were in 4th grade, but NO WAY at the state fair.

I went to the state fair alone (well with some friends, no parents) for the first time when I was 16.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Yikes. I guess sixteen, if they were responsible kids.

 

[PaddingtonBear]

Our state fair is in Detroit, so the day after never. Seriously, I don't feel safe there after dark. But a local fair, like the one my city holds every summer, I'd let them go at about 14, I think. But our local fair is crawling with cops.

IMO, 11-12 is far, far too young to be on thier own in that type of environment.

 

[akayek31]

Our local fair is in a bad part of town. Its a small town fair that is about 10-12 rides. I would not let either of my kids hang out there at all. There are too many fights and gangs around it.

 

[TextWildfire]

My hubby and I were just talking about this, and then went to the state fair and saw it with our own eyes. At what age do you think its OK for kids to be at the fair at night with friends but no adult? We saw kids 11-12 years old acting like they were 18, flirting with grown men with beer in their hands (the men not the girls). I wonder if parents know what their daughter do when they are out with a pal? These girls looked like street walkers and were acting a bit like it too.
IMHO- these girls are playing a dangerous game.
If its cool to be part of this.. my kids wont be cool.

I know this was from 10 years ago. But I was looking up stuff about age wise for state fairs. My exes 12 year old daughter has permission from both of her parents that it's okay for her to go to the Central Washington State Fair in Yakima with you girlfriend(age 11), best friend(age 12), and her best friends boyfriend(age 13-14). They are all in middle school. And the fair is huge. I'm really concerned about her safety even if I can't do anything about it. She's responsible. And it's also daylight when she's going. I hope they won't be out at night. I never went to the fair by myself or with just friends until I was like 18. I just also hope they dress appropriately for going to a fair.

 

[kaytieeldr]

At 12-13, I would let them hang out, but I would probably insist on being there at a "safe" distance from where they were so I could keep an eye on them and know that they're safe.

Not being in the immediate presence of an adult first necessarily mean the teens are there alone.

I knew someone would ask this. I should have said that since my word is not good enough... we knew (not closely, but rather knew-of) one of them.

Or you could have avoided the skepticism by stating that you know of the age of at least one person in the group.

 

[low-key]

State Fairs are creepy, I go with 45

 

[NotUrsula]

State fairs tend to be pretty large events. I allow my 12 yo to go to parish carnivals with her friends while her Dad & I socialize off to the side, but that's a much smaller environment, and because most of the attendees are families we know from the parish, the kids know that if they get up to anything, word WILL get back to us. They also know not to associate with the carnies; and again, other adults are there who know them, and will alert us in a hot minute if anyone looks at them sideways.

At a state fair, I'd say definitely high school, and probably closer to 16, and not at night. (Heck, I'm not sure I'd want to be at a state fair at night.) Those fairgrounds tend to be pretty poorly policed, and the environment can get rather rowdy. Too easy for young kids to find themselves in an iffy situation that they cannot think their way out of fast enough.