Left alone in a park

I think you have to be 11 to do a parkrun without an adult so realistically no parkrun Marshall would be expecting to have to deal with a random 10 year old . Marshalls are just volunteers not dbs checked or anything like that .

I wouldn’t leave a 10 year old in park in a city we were completely unfamiliar with.

It might well be fine for the child herself, but supposing someone attempts to abscond with her? She has no-one to run to or to intervene if she's frightened...

I don't know, that's the kind of thing my mum would have said to me in the nineties.

She often left me by the magazines while she did the food shop and told me to ask the cashier/a member of staff if I needed any help and they would come and find her.

You would you rather they made her run?

At 10, playing at a park which dad and sister are running a route near, when everyone knows how long it takes, sounds reasonable. Add a phone to contact dad if there is a problem.

Assuming she is happy with the arrangement I think that's fine.

I wouldn’t be happy with it in a million years but I am a very cautious person. It does partly depend on the child and the nature of the environment, there are some children and some settings where it would be clearly unwise, others where it is more feasible.

The fact that you are uncomfortable with it tells me that it isn’t what your daughter is used to and it isn’t your style of parenting, which makes it worse really.

I’d be fuming. Is it ok, probably, would I leave my own 10 year old to go on a run, no way! Don’t care what other mums do, I wouldn’t be happy to risk it so it’s a strong no for me.

This.

Fine in a familiar place where she knows her way about, not good in a strange city!

depends on the kid I guess. I wouldn't be happy but then I'm a pretty cautious parent and my kid wouldn't have liked it at that age. Year or two later though - yes I guess so - if they had a phone!

If it had been a local park that she knew well and she was with friends, that would be fine. A park in a strange city on her own wouldn't be OK for me.

It sounds fine to me. But I'm in an area where 10 year olds walk to school, play out, go to the local shop, cycle round to friends' houses, meet others in the park ... without an adult, for much longer than 30 minutes and no one blinks an eye lid.

I'm assuming safe area due to the park run going on.

I'd imagine she was playing with other children. Not just totally left on her own. With a phone.

At ten kids like to feel a bit independent. By year 6 they should be getting used to travelling to and from school alone in preparation for secondary.

So playing in the park knowing your dad and sister are nearby and everyone's got a phone sounds reasonable.

I don't think it seems an issue. Presuming the 10 yo was happy enough and nothing bad happened?

At some point it's appropriate for children to start going to the shop alone. Most parents will teach them to speak to staff rather than a random stranger if they need help with something.

The question is whether 10 is an appropriate age for that to start. I don't see why it isn't.

I'd be ok with this.

Presumably they had a conversation before they left her in the play park that they were completing the run and to wait for them and also sight of the park whilst the lap runs past, even if it is a wide lap.

Better leave her playing happily than dragging her on the run if she didn't want to do it

I think the important thing is how did your dd feel? Was she given a choice, was she made to feel like she has to do this? Being unsupervised isn't the problem but I imagine she was pretty bored. 10 year olds don't make friends and play in playgrounds in the same way younger kids do.

I'd be okay with this if she had a phone with her

Yes I agree @BarbaraHoward but you don't generally say to your 10 year old "I'm leaving you in Tesco alone for 30-45 minutes. Any problems, speak to a stall member." That's the difference.

Hence the mental issues children face today

It depends on the 10 year old, mine would have hated it & been nervous, completely irrelevant if MNetters kids have been cycling to their mates five km away since age 8. It’s completely subjective. How did your child feel about it? Is she resourceful enough to know who to approach safely? All depends on that.

Personally for my child I wouldn’t have been happy at all.

I would not be happy with either of my kids being left anywhere (except at home) on their own. They are 9 & 11. They would be unhappy and a bit freaked out tbh.
Not worth the risk tbh...

I don't think you're understanding PP's point.

It's not the staff in Tesco's job to be babysitters or take responsibility for my children, but that's who I tell them to speak to if they get lost while we're in the shop.

Likewise, parkrun marshalls are a sensible choice of responsible adult for a lost child to approach - they'll know the route and be able to track the dad down quicker than Joe Bloggs.

Did the younger DD have instructions as to what to do if she was worried or something happened?
At park run there are usually lots of people about, do I think if the DD is sensible, knows when they'll be back and has a clear idea if what to do if someone hassles her then it's ok.

I can't see an issue with this at all.

@BarbaraHoward I don't think it's reasonable for a Parkrun marshall to take any responsibility for a random kid. If every runner decided to leave their children unsupervised in the park on the assumption the Parkrun marshalls could be called on then it would be a problem.

I think the consensus is that it wasn't irresponsible or dangerous, but depending on the child, they might not be happy. If I was in a similar situation I would probably send the 12 year old off on the run and hang out with the 10 year old.