What age would let..

[JerseyJanice]

That first show was the Yes Roundabout tour. Their stage rotated completely.

We had a huge group of kids go--I guess around 35 kids. My 17 year-old male cousin and his 16 year-old sister were in the group. I was allowed to go a lot because Anthony was watching out for us.

 

[aprilgail2]

That first show was the Yes Roundabout tour. Their stage rotated completely.

We had a huge group of kids go--I guess around 35 kids. My 17 year-old male cousin and his 16 year-old sister were in the group. I was allowed to go a lot because Anthony was watching out for us.

I just got tickets for a Yes concert in the city! I am using them in an auction I am running LOL...they are still out there touring!

 

[aprilgail2]

This is for our town. It is HIGHLY unusual for a college student to be under 18 in our state with the minimum starting age for kindergarten at age 5. .

Here is is not uncommon for a 17 yera old to be in college--anyone with Birthdays in Sept-Oct or November would be 17 in college. I was 16 when I graduated high school - I skipped 11th grade. Not because I was some brainy kid or anything but I really really hated high school and I had planned on enough credits to graduate a year early if I skipped my lunch period from 9th grade on and took a class there instead. I did have to take 2 Englishs in 12th grade but that was it. Back when I went to school you did not have to have a second language, it was 1 year of science, 2 years of math, 3 years of history and 4 years of english. So by 12th grade all that was required was health, English and Gym- and gym and health rotated- it was 3 days a week of gym and the other 2 you went to health so basically senior year was 2 periods plus whatever else you wanted to take...most kids only had a few periods of classes and we were home by 5th period.

 

[Nancy]

wow- I sure plan on letting my daughter go to a 9 pm movie without mommy tagging along before she is 17 or 18!!

since my youngest is just turning 17 and she has already done this I guess I am too. Since none of the friends were old enough to drive after 9:00 PM the parents were still the rides...car pools are wonderful. Drop off and pick up...they go no where else. Of course I don't like when I get picked for the pickup since it tends to be late..but she has a good group of friends of both sexes.

 

[wenrob]

Just started letting DD do this, she and her girlfriends are 13yrs old. As far as I know the other girls parents have just started doing this as well. A parent drops off and picks up and the girls know to absolutely stay together. The theater is close enough to the school that they could walk but they'd have to cross over an over pass so that's a no go.

 

[Nancy]

At seventenn and eighteen the later movie at nine or ten would let out around midnight. Alot of bar drinkers bar hopping,and driving curfews for states where it exists happen at that hour. The late show should respectfully be for those adults who want a night out without alot of fifteen or sixteen year olds without supervision ruining it. If they attend the seven show they could stop for a bite to eat after. But that late show is for the older crowd and I personally would not want my sixteen year old subject to a older colllege kid trying to pick her up etc.. Alot of things happen at movie theatres and you are ignorant if you cannot think of at least ten.

I just asked my daughter and she laughed..said she has never had anyone try to pick her up and that at 16 she and her friends are mature enough that they do not go running around being idiots, they know better. BUT she said she has seen plenty of adults being jerks and talking on the cell phones and to each other and ruining it for her.

Op here - 10? 8? Wow I'm very surprised at that young age. What if there was a fire or a bomb scare at the theater, would your child know what to do?

How old is your child when you let them stay home alone??

They sure do. Fire drills and red card drills at school all the time. My daughters while still in grade/middle school dealt with evacuations for bomb scares a number of times. In the highschool...lots of red card drills and the one year it seemed like almost everyday for a week they were put on buses and evacuated due to bomb threats until they caught the student that was doing them.

I started to leave them home alone in 2001..so 10 years ago. I started to work days full time but I was able to do my own schedule so I was off 2 days during the week and worked on weekends to get in my 5 days. They were home along 3 days. 10 years ago they were 7, 10 and 11. I was home to get them off to school, Dad took his lunch so he was home when they got home from school..so they maybe had 2-3 hours alone. By the time summer came around they were able to be home alone all day without any problems..helped that Dad came home for lunch everyday though to check up on them.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Hmmm...I don't remember what ages I let my older boys do it (they are now 25 & 26). DD13 asked to go to the last Twilight film iwth some friends. I said yes..but it fell through. We saw it with her bff together. So, 13 is a good age for an afternoon flick without adults.

And to those who are naysaying the over protective parents..well I don't think they are worried about what their kids will do, they are worried about others, and I know that is a concern of mine. I know as a teenager when I went to the movies I has an uncomfortable situation with a man next to me. I don't ever want DD in that position. SO I am not worried about what she will do I am worried about what others will do!!

I will let DD go with friends, mixed genders to movies if she would ask now. DH would probably have a fit!! Date movies will wait until 16!!

 

[golfgal]

Here is is not uncommon for a 17 yera old to be in college--anyone with Birthdays in Sept-Oct or November would be 17 in college. I was 16 when I graduated high school - I skipped 11th grade. Not because I was some brainy kid or anything but I really really hated high school and I had planned on enough credits to graduate a year early if I skipped my lunch period from 9th grade on and took a class there instead. I did have to take 2 Englishs in 12th grade but that was it. Back when I went to school you did not have to have a second language, it was 1 year of science, 2 years of math, 3 years of history and 4 years of english. So by 12th grade all that was required was health, English and Gym- and gym and health rotated- it was 3 days a week of gym and the other 2 you went to health so basically senior year was 2 periods plus whatever else you wanted to take...most kids only had a few periods of classes and we were home by 5th period.

I know that the start age for a lot of areas is 4. We have a Sept 1st cut off and since the question was asked about our area I answered for our area.

Hmmm...I don't remember what ages I let my older boys do it (they are now 25 & 26). DD13 asked to go to the last Twilight film iwth some friends. I said yes..but it fell through. We saw it with her bff together. So, 13 is a good age for an afternoon flick without adults.

And to those who are naysaying the over protective parents..well I don't think they are worried about what their kids will do, they are worried about others, and I know that is a concern of mine. I know as a teenager when I went to the movies I has an uncomfortable situation with a man next to me. I don't ever want DD in that position. SO I am not worried about what she will do I am worried about what others will do!!

I will let DD go with friends, mixed genders to movies if she would ask now. DH would probably have a fit!! Date movies will wait until 16!!

So you had a bad experience, what did you do about it and how did you know what to do? My DD and her friend were at the park one day last summer or the summer before and there was a "creepy" looking guy at the park so they came home and called the non-emergency police number to tell them what they saw-they would have been 12-13 at the time and we were not home. They did this all on their own. The police thanked them and let them know they would send an unmarked car over to check it out. We got a call later saying everything was ok and to thank us for teaching our kids how to react to a situation like this. By not letting your kids develop a 6th sense about things like this is really not a good idea. In your situation our kids would know to get up and move. If the guy followed them they would have gone and told someone that works at the theater. I don't see anything wrong with that.

 

[wenrob]

At seventenn and eighteen the later movie at nine or ten would let out around midnight. Alot of bar drinkers bar hopping,and driving curfews for states where it exists happen at that hour. The late show should respectfully be for those adults who want a night out without alot of fifteen or sixteen year olds without supervision ruining it. If they attend the seven show they could stop for a bite to eat after. But that late show is for the older crowd and I personally would not want my sixteen year old subject to a older colllege kid trying to pick her up etc.. Alot of things happen at movie theatres and you are ignorant if you cannot think of at least ten.

I'm in Las Vegas, here the bar is always open, lol. The theater our girls go to is in a casino (as most are anymore). Here's the thing, they're picked up, dropped off, have cel phones on them and have pretty good heads on their shoulders. I trust them, they've given me no reason not to and they know what to do or who to go to if they're being harassed. As a PP mentioned there's strength in numbers. Also being in a casino there's security everywhere even if you don't see it. The girls can't roam because the only place they're legally allowed to be without an adult is in the theater and food court. Usually they go in the early afternoon but I'd have no problem with an evening show.

How old is your child when you let them stay home alone??

Around 9ish I'd run to the grocery store etc and gradually I've increased the time over the years. I now leave several hours at a time and she watches her younger brother and sister. She's not comfortable alone after dark and I don't push it, she'll get there.

 

[arminnie]

Another example of how very, very much the world has changed.

At 7 I used to take my 4 year old brother and walk 6 blocks to the movie theatre on 8 Mile road in Detroit. All the neighborhood kids did it every Saturday morning.

Yes, that very 8 Mile road from eminem's movie. But I'm older than dirt so that really has nothing to do with today's world.

 

[princesspumpkin]

Great post! Although I would answer 12 or 13 if I know the kids and it's just to the movies to the post, I never understand when people try to use the argument "they'll be adults soon..." as a reason for diving straing into early independence.

Thanks! And for the record, Dd started going with her girlfriends when she was actually 12. I just wanted to address that particular post referring to age 14 not being too late.

 

[kawing123]

The point is staging when your children can and cannot do things. By all means, give that thirteen and fourteen year old night movie privledge and by the time they are sixteen they will move on to other things. At least by staging they have something to look forward to and many theatres restrict minors without a parent at certain hours anyways. Yes, there are weirdos all over and can pass through any neighborhood on any given day at any hour. Setting and having limitations in the teen years is a good idea. Sixteen is the perfect age for a night time movie, but this could depend on the child. Alcohol consumption rises in the evenings, parties take place in the evenings, rapes rise at night, etc... A sixteen year old is much more well equippped to handle situations than a thirteen year old.

 

[Bluestars]

Drop off and pick up at a daytime movie - I would say around 10 or 11 yrs old

Drop off and pick up at a night movie - 13 or 14

Drop off for a "date" just the boy and girl - around 14

 

[minniebeth]

I'm so glad I didn't see this thread last night! My head would have been swimming with what to do. My DD12 asked me last minute last night if she could go to the movies with her friends. We got the details, and then had to make a decision since they've never done this before and it was a Saturday night. DH was the deciding factor by saying yes.
Responsible girls, good area, movie was fine, and I drove them there and spoke with the parent driving home.
She was really happy that we let her and she reinforced to us we could trust her to be safe with her friends.

 

[wenrob]

The point is staging when your children can and cannot do things. By all means, give that thirteen and fourteen year old night movie privledge and by the time they are sixteen they will move on to other things. At least by staging they have something to look forward to and many theatres restrict minors without a parent at certain hours anyways. Yes, there are weirdos all over and can pass through any neighborhood on any given day at any hour. Setting and having limitations in the teen years is a good idea. Sixteen is the perfect age for a night time movie, but this could depend on the child. Alcohol consumption rises in the evenings, parties take place in the evenings, rapes rise at night, etc... A sixteen year old is much more well equippped to handle situations than a thirteen year old.

A GROUP of 13yr olds in a controlled environment with limits and rules who have proven themselves time and time again to be responsible will be able to handle situations even better by the time they're sixteen. They're good kids with brains in their heads, not simpletons.
Will they move onto other things at sixteen? More then likely. Will it be evil or trouble? Let's hope not. I've got a little more faith in my kid and my parenting then that. This is knowing what I did as a teen and it wasn't pretty But my parents did not budge and assumed we'd be up to no good so we pushed and did since we were being accused anway. They totally bought what I said I was doing rather check it out for themselves but I probably wouldn't have gone that far if they just had a little faith. The future remains to be seen but I seriously don't think my kid will suddenly jump over the edge because I let her go to a movie after 5pm.

 

[charming23]

I was 10 when my parents started letting me go to movies without adult supervision. The rule was we could not leave the theater and we had to go to the restroom in groups. We were perfectly finr doing so.

I was 13 the first time I was allowed to go at night with the same rules applying.

At 15 I was allowed on non school nights to go to late movies as long as I was with friends my parents knew.

 

[cristit14]

DD was probably 12, but just for afternoon movies. Now we will let her do evening, but not the really late ones because I don't want to have to go pick her up that late.

 

[tink20]

I think DD was 12 or 13. One parent would drop off and one would pick up. I told my DD if she ever lied about going, that would be the end of it. A lot of her friends have older siblings and I wanted to make sure they weren't going to catch a ride and go somewhere else. So, far my DD, is where she says she is suppose to be, (or at least I think she is) but she's dating now, so whole different set of worries. I like her boyfriend she has right now. So no complaints, for now.

 

[hereyago]

My DD11 hasn't even asked about this yet. I take her to the movies, especiallly Twilight movies' ok, I have a crush on Edward Cullen. Interesting thread though.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I have a 10 year old. I think if it was the middle of the day, a kids movie with other people there (e.g. not a mostly empty theater) and I was in the theater at another movie, I would do it now, although it hasn't come up. A group of kids walking off to the theater together with no adult there? I agree about 14. There's a lot of gray area in between those two.