Kirstie Allsop's 15 Year Old Son

In these days of tracking devices and constant contact I think it's actually fine. He's wealthy and will have had decent safe accommodation. He's with a friend.
As long as he's a sensible kid which I assume he is,I don't see the problem. Probably very confidence building for him.
I'd be terrified if it were my son, yeah, but I do actually think this will have been an amazing rewarding and worthwhile experience for this boy.

Spot on.

Does this mean we can leave ds at home for a week and go on holiday without him? I know there's no actual law, and it used to happen a lot in the past, but I've always thought leaving 15b yr olds home alone overnight was at the least frowned on.

Surely if a 15 yr old can go travelling, they can stay home?

I did the same when I was 15, but on my own...41 years ago. August birthday, so I was nearly 16. Still ranks as probably the best holiday I've had.

The ones I’ve known in Europe are fine for 16yos to stay in them. 16 and 17yos are meant to have a letter from a guardian but Dd hasn’t known that happen. I booked an Airbnb for Dd and her friend in Paris once and it never crossed my mind there might be an issue (there wasn’t). Dd was 18 then but her friend was 17. Only issue was at the border coming back, customs separated them and quizzed them as they were concerned a 17yo was travelling without permission and were asking DD’s friend for a letter….she didn’t have one so they let them go 😁

It really wasn’t. I agree I bet he’s had a fab time & an awesome trip. It’s lovely his parents could get him set up to do it and let him go.

Ot wasn't too young for them
Not your choice.

I wonder if celebrities should all go into one place and post what they plan on doing to seek permission from the public

"I am planning on having my child's 5th birthday party these are the details is this acceptable? If I do this will I be accused of doing it for instagra what about this will people be jealous? Does this bit pass the I have no life so want to dictate what celebrities can and can't do test'"

My DDs were amazed to hear about my year 6 trip, back in the day (late 70s, I think it was year 1 then?), so I was 10/11.

It was a camping trip to Delft in Holland, we all got a coach there. One of the day trips was to Amsterdam. The coach dropped us all off at a central point and the teacher broke us up into groups of 3 and told us to go sightseeing, do what we want for a few hours and meet back at the coach at a certain time.

Imagine that these days!!

KA knows excatly what will gain her attention and she likes nothing better than telling us how they do things is so very different to how the plebs do things

he has been at boring school for years, encouraged to be independent from an extremely young age (which is utterly bizarre to the rest of us), will most likely have that extreme confidence elite privately educated children so often have, will have endless pot of cash and most probably have a number of friends who they can just pop in and stay with

she will love the outcry this will create

It's a tricky one because IF anything had happened to her son whilst traveling she would be vilified by the trolls online for ' allowing' him to travel when he isn't an adult yet.
You can't win in this kind of situation and I know plenty of people who would judge this as being almost negligent on her part.

I would love ds to do stuff like this, but I can't even get him to go to a supermarket or meet his mates. He's been walking to and from school since yr 7.He wants to go to uni in a couple of years, but I'm not sure how he thinks he's going to manage- unless it's up a mountain with no people around.

I think it's amazing. I wouldn't have been confident enough to do that at that age (or this age, tbf!) and I don't think my children, although I definitely don't infantilise them (my 8 year old has just walked to Tesco up the road to pick up loo roll and bread by himself!) would be ready to do this, but what an amazing experience!

Kirstie used to say she won’t send her boys to boarding schools like Eton like her dad. But she went to Bedales at Sixth Form so perhaps her DS will be off to Sixth Form boarding after all? So it is a good way to ease him in? I think teens growing up in London have quite a lot of freedom typically as many travel to school and meet up with friends on public transport from an early age so if you can navigate London, then presumably navigating eg Amsterdam or Berlin is not that difficult and if her kids are at a London private school (assumption here) then they have probably been on school trips all over with school already anyway. I don’t see this as a big deal. It’s quite standard in many European countries to let 16 plus travel and go away with friends on their own.

I did allow my dds to go to Italy and Greece with groups of close friends when they were eighteen, between school and university. But I knew the friends and many of their parents

You 'allowed' them? Because you 'knew the friends and many of the parents'?!

At 18 they were adults. You couldn't have stopped them even if you'd wanted to; an adult can go wherever they like and with whomever they choose. This is so infantilising and really sheds some light on why so many teenagers are a bloody nightmare to employ these days. And why so many of them struggle to adjust to university.

Back when children weren't so mollycoddled, I finished my GCSE's and got a train straight to London to watch Coldplay at Crystal Palace. We stayed in London for 2 weeks doing loads of fun things at a friends flat and we decided to head over to Paris for 2 days on the Eurostar.

I was very well travelled, well behaved, reliable, organised and conscientious. My friend was even more so. My parents risk assessed and decided that I was more than capable. My friend was a boy (family friend) so that improved safety.

YHA for the UK FYI

4.1 To ensure we provide safe and suitable accommodation for everyone, children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a person who is 18 years or older. Children at the age of 12 and over can stay in public dormitories if accompanied by an adult, who they checked into the Hostel with. Children under the age of 12 are not permitted to stay in public dormitory accommodation and should be booked into a private room. Children who are ages 16 or over may stay in any accommodation. Groups of guests of mixed genders, who wish to stay in the same room, must book private accommodation.

I do find in Europe you have to do more providing of parental consent, but it’s not too hard to sort.

Most kids who can afford it go off with their friends after GCSEs somewhere. Not sure how they check into hotels though, is it 16 in Europe? Maybe they have to stick with youth hostels.

Exactly... he won't be slumming it.

None of anyone else's business. I'm impressed they have managed to find places to stay that will take 2 young people.

She says he's very close to 16 (late August baby, I assume) and I really don't see the issue with a couple of 16-year-olds travelling in Europe. It's not like he's gone backpacking round Afghanistan, is it?

I loathe Kirstie Allsopp personally, but I'm sure she knows her own son and what he's capable of.

Kids that age can get jobs and join the armed forces. I think a 16-year-old should be more than capable of travelling unaccompanied in Europe, and I'd probably think a teenager who couldn't manage that was a bit immature, if I'm being honest.

I've just been interrailing with my 13 year old son and he took the lead on many of the travel arrangements. I would think that, in 3 years time, he and his sensible friends would manage a trip. It's so much easier today with phone and internet access and i'm guessing that their parents had a significant hand in planning and booking accommodation along the way.

I went inter-railing by myself aged 16, funded by my Saturday job. This was in the 80’s. I don’t think I would let my 16 yo DD do it solo but I would consider her doing it with twin DS.
My DM said I grew up so much during the month I was away. I ran out of money and had to sleep on a beach but had to sort everything out for myself. It imbedded a deep love of travelling within me which I still have (though I don’t sleep on beaches anymore!)

I do wonder how her son was able to get accommodation though unless they were hosteling (or dossing on beaches).

This. My friend was born 31 August, at 11 pm. Very much the youngest in her year. Also very much one of the most sensible (ended up as Head Girl, great results, nice group of friends). Why should she have been penalised while a daft irresponsible kid born in October would have been able to go.

This is what she said... He is still only 15 and travelled with a 16 year old according to her statement.
Kirstie Allsopp
@KirstieMAllsopp
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13h
My little boy has returned from 3 weeks inter-railing, he’ll be 16 on Wednesday so he went with a mate who’s already 16 due to hostel/travel restrictions, but they organised the whole thing; Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Marseille, Toulouse, Barcelona & Madrid 1/3