Is it o.k to let your 11 year old daughter hang out on the local park?

Says who?! There really is no such law.
I am not talking about leaving an 11 year old at home by themselves while you go off on holiday for a week. Clearly that would be neglect… but there is a balance. Organising every single aspect of your child’s life, filling it with adult supervised activities that you personally drive them to and from is not going to teach them any resilience.
Before you know it, they will be off to uni and won’t be resilient enough to handle being away from home.
I am a millennial and I was out hanging around with my mates at ages 11. Getting the bus by myself, walking to places, obviously not being tracked as there was no such thing. I am one of the most resilient people I know. I moved out of home at 17. I have travelled the world. I have worked my arse off and gotten a great career despite only getting a few GCSEs. Stuff doesn’t phase me as much as it does my friends who were molly coddled. I am so glad my parents didn’t police my every move growing up

Tbh not so rare. Here is another one just from today www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gxj7ygglyo.amp

Every aspect? Every single one?
My child is 7 and is allowed to ride up and down our quiet cul de sac with the neighbours kids when he wants. Does that make me a bad parent?
Or what about when I send him up to the counter in the soft play to buy his own snack so he can learn this little skill?

Or when he is a little older; and I plan on keeping the front door open and he can come in and out as he pleases but I give him some boundaries to stick to?

Horrible stories. But rare, hence being in the news

Reminder that Brianna Ghey was stabbed to death in a park in Warrington - not London - by kids she thought were her friends. And only today this in Hull: Girl, 13, is fighting for her life after being stabbed and collapsing in woodland, 6 teenagers arrested. It is their mates, not nasty strangers.

My daughter is still at primary school. I arrange every aspect of coordinating her life. I wouldn't be doing a good job otherwise.

Each to their own. I'm not here to argue with people. If others want to leave their kids alone, that's up to them, at whatever age they deem appropriate.

There is no such law.

So what? A child can't legally be left alone until they are 12. Why shouldn't they be supervised to some extent?

Kids don't really have many places to go where they feel they've got freedom/privacy and it also costs no money. So inevitably the park will be a meeting place for kids.
I guess there could be older kids there who could bully/rob them? I guess a paedo could be lurking? But they do need to be able to go somewhere with their pals. In early secondary school they'll be making new friendships so won't necessarily want to invite kids round their house individually. Untill they know them better.

Errors, by being allowed independence in any safe way as they get older.

The guides thing sounds great, really it does. But these are still activities arranged by adults, completed under adult supervision and probably judged by adults too. This is not real independence IMO

I think if anyone takes anything away from this post.

Please remember, it's very unlikely anyone will come at your dc in a dirty rain mack in the park.

But someone with bad intentions can befriend the group and get to know them and before they know where they are someone knows an awful lot about them, address, school, family situation and your child can't even understand they are bad because they are just another pal at the park.

And how does a kid become streetwise?

We live in a lovely quaint village in a farming community with not much going on. It may seem very safe.

However, it's also very boring for kids.

Some older kids have been taking a lot of ketamine over the park. Needles have been found and a couple of young guys were trying to sell drugs to younger kids from their car.

These quiet places, a couple of hours from London (and other big cities), are where county lines dealers come to take advantage of young and naive kids who are not street wise.

I'm not trying to scaremonger but it's part of my job and very real and, sadly, has the potential to be dangerous if kids get caught up in it!

Of course he cleans up. He tries. But a teenage boy isn't going to do the job to the same specification that I am happy with. I'm not going to pick on him and have a go when he has tried his best and done a good job (mostly). Why do I get the impression that some ppl are just looking for an argument on mumsnet?

I agree with this. My 11 year old goes to Guides and they do camping trips where they all have to 'muck in', do the cooking, washing up etc. Last few Guide meet ups they had to stick to a budget a create a shopping list and plan a menu for a set amount of people, and the week after they cooked the meal. It takes place in our local village hall and none of her other Guide friends go 'hanging around Primark' either. It only takes one bad influence to encourage the 'good kids' to try their hand at shoplifting / vaping / etc. All parents think their angels are not capable of such things. There are many other ways to encourage independence in our children

@Savingthehedgehogs 6 06 post I completely agree.

There are many ways to encourage independence.

And yes these predators do seamlessly blend in and the child wouldn't know, and it's someone's brother or uncle or friend of family.
They don't try and capture them straight away they work on it for long term games.

your style of engaging with posters on this thread definitely shines more of a light on your own thread on the go!

bloody. hell. @Savingthehedgehogs

The question is, why hang around in a park? What's there to do? Often teens that are just hanging around in the park are smoking weed.

I can understand if it's sporty kids and there is a basketball hoop, table tennis, or similar equipment or a place to play footie so they meet up play a bit, chat and walk back. Or a happening park, busy with families that has lots to offer, it's fine meeting up and having a stroll. Hanging around for hours in the neighbourhood park with nothing on offer? They'll be bored in no time and are more likely to engage in risky behaviour.

I’ve not read the full thread but I have an 11 yr old DD who is my youngest and I have similar worries about our local park. I facilitate meet ups with friends at the cinema, coffee shops, other parks and activities. I’m always happy to give lifts but also respect that she may want to get to places alongside her friends so let her decide (not on the way home if it’s dark though). She has had the same boyfriend for 2 years (it’s really just a special friendship but they call each other bf/gf) and he’s a nice chap. I’m terrified of her future demands - she’s quiet and sensible but very strong willed if the mood takes her - but trying to balance freedom with safety. I have older sons and was never this panicky with them but assume it’s because she’s the youngest, female and doesn’t hang out in a large group of friends.

Your work exposes you to the worst possible consequences, your attitude to this is very understandable because of that. And obviously not all parks are equal, the one a PP mentioned on this page sounds absolutely horrifying and no one in their right mind should send their child there but there are also parks that are perfectly benign, where it is safe to send your children to play, and the chances of something bad happening are vanishingly small. For instance there's a park near me that is perfectly safe, no drug dealers hang around there, older teenagers don't either as there's nothing for them there, they hang out at the skate park in the town centre. I'd be perfectly happy letting even my 6 year old play in the park near me by himself if it wasn't for the fact that its on the other side of the main road, and because its close to the lake.

Have a nice day. While you are at work, maybe look at some statistics so you understand the actual risk.

The OP literally said from 2 - 4pm. It is still light at that time currently.
No need to apologise - you are speaking from a place of extreme anxiety and fear which must be very hard for you to manage.