Left alone in a park

To spell it out for you:that's just your opinion.
Ten year old wasn't alone. She's going to look ridiculous getting collected from Secondary school in a year or less.

@JimHalpertsWife yes - as do hundreds of the other parents at my child's school, and we live in a village.

I think this is fine.

I'm sure she did get a bit bored but I don't think it's a huge problem for a 10 year old to get a bit bored for 30 mins. Next time, she should take a book.

I don't really understand why the unfamiliarity of the location makes a big difference - it would if she was entertaining herself for a day somewhere but for 30 mins all she needs to do is stay where she's put which doesn't seem to me to require any particular familiarity with the area.

But at 10yo they are year 5 / year 6 - it's entirely normal. Do you walk yours to and from at that age?

*city

@JimHalpertsWife correct - which is why I wouldn't let a ten year old walk to school in a fury either.

I do wonder if some of the most vocal posters who are adamant it is inappropriate have been anywhere close to a parkrun in their lives?

Parkrun is held in the morning, in broad daylight and at any busy city parkrun there would be plenty of families, children of other runners, supporters and volunteers etc both in the play park and close by. The OP's daughter would not be "alone" and as long as she is sensible, the level of risk is tiny.

She is far more likely to come to harm in a RTA or accident at home.

And for those saying that she is being "left out", it is for less than an hour on a Saturday morning so there is plenty of the weekend remaining to focus on activities which appeal to her more than running

She could've been taken in her own city. In her local park. Walking to or from school.

I think enough people think it is fine that there is nothing you can do about it.

Dd is safe. Her parent and step parent have assesed the situation and decided it is fine and dds preference to joining in.

Support dd by encouraging her to play at the park or join in the run. Or get some games on her phone and sit and do that.

Many Glasgow parks are lovely. And there are rough areas of Edinburgh (or anywhere) too so the poster who said Glasgow no Edinburgh yes is very ignorant.

I personally think leaving a ten year old alone in a strange city where she could have easily been taken - and no that's not dramatic, it happens way too often - is mental.
10 is primary school age. They are still tiny kids.
I wouldn't bloody dream of it and would be furious. It's reckless. No parent thinks it will happen to them until it does. Why would he ever risk it?

The amount of posters saying they were out with their friends at that age can’t seem to compute that dd is alone and not with friends. Totally different situation.

a) with friends b) in an area you were familiar with
not
a) alone b) in a strange city
It's so weird that a lot of posters ca't see that there's a difference in risk levels there,

Glasgow! I’m not surprised. 🤦🏻‍♀️ (My DH is Glaswegian and he’s appalled)

I think it’s ridiculous for Ex to leave youngest alone like that in a city she’s unfamiliar with. It doesn’t sound very nice for your younger daughter either. Being a busy place makes it easier to snatch a kid as everyone’s only paying attention to their own kids.

Contact time is meant to be for the benefit of the child, and I don’t see how the youngest is getting anything from being ignored in favour of the eldest one. If Ex is determined to bog off to Parkrun then she should ask her partner to stay and look after the younger child or find a friend supervise her at the very least.

I suffer from anxiety (I know it’s a bit of a cliche now but it’s real). The anxiety is always focused on my children’s safety (even now as independent young adults). So when my children were growing up I would always imagine ‘what if’ scenarios in my head to gauge whether I should allow certain freedoms. So in this particular situation I would think, what if I returned to the park and my dd wasn't there. I’d go in to sheer panic mode because of the unfamiliarity of the area. Based on that I know I couldn’t run and enjoy it (dad’s tend not to worry about these things though) and I would fret until I knew she was back with her dad. People who keep saying they were out with friends at that age are missing the point that she is not with friends.

I’m not saying I’m right (as anxiety plays a big part) but in the same situation I wouldn't feel relaxed or happy about it.

Yes there are different attitudes now but there’s no more child murders, kidnappings etc now. It’s as safe now as it was then

No I wouldn’t be ok with that at all, your poor DD.

Different when it’s the NRP and there is now a new couple though. I think it’s particularly an onus on a NRP to make thoughtful decisions about how they use the time with each of their kids. This isn’t thoughtful of the sibling being left in a strange park alone.

Parent or step parent should stay with non running child and do something the child likes to do together while other adult runs with child who likes a run.

So what if years ago we used to expect kids to do much more stuff alone. We don’t live that way now. All kids are different. Visits to their parents really stick in children’s minds though and this is not a good way to use one. Hopefully it’s a one off.

Your dh needs to find a joint activity they can all enjoy and go running with your eldest when he’s not ‘in charge’ of them both.

I*m always in charge of my kids, so I can't do anything with one that the other does not want to do? I'm sure older DD will be thrilled when she's told her hobby is cancelled because youngest cannot possibly be bored for half an hour.

It sounds like she was bored, and that obviously sucks as a child and if your eldest is genuinely getting all the attention then that is an issue, but being bored for half an hour is something children need to learn to cope with it, its actually good for them.

Hi OP. I can see on the face of it why you would be concerned but the reality is probably quite different from what you are imagining. As you say Glasgow is a very large city. You haven’t said which parkrun it was but let me run through a couple of scenarios.

The obvious choice for anyone visiting Glasgow to complete a parkrun would be Pollok parkrun (Scotland’s first parkrun and the original Glasgow parkrun). The parkrun is based in Pollok Country Park which is several miles from Glasgow City Centre and situated in the leafy suburbs of the Southside. This is a popular parkrun which can attract over 400 runners and the park is generally busy with families on a Saturday morning. The playpark itself would likely be busy as parents take their children there while their partners run. There is only one entrance in and out of the playpark and there are generally plenty of parents sitting on the benches outside the entrance while their children play inside. Your daughter would have been perfectly safe. If she had an accident and no one was attending to her someone would have come to her assistance.

Another potential parkrun could be Victoria Park (a possibility as the playpark is situated in the centre of the route as you have described). Again the playpark would likely have been busy and someone would have come to your daughter’s assistance if she had an accident. There isn’t any chance that your daughter would have been snatched as a pp suggested as no one is going to be able to drag a 10 year old out of a busy playpark and then through a park full of runners to the nearest parking spot (5/10 minutes walk away) on a Saturday morning in Glasgow.

Obviously I haven’t considered every Glasgow parkrun but I assume your ex wouldn’t leave your daughter in an empty playpark without there being other families around. I take it your daughter also had the choice to wait at the start / finish line where there would be plenty of volunteers and supporters around but chose to wait in the playpark instead.

I’m sorry but there is absolutely no way I’d leave my 10 year old in a park in the middle of Glasgow 🫤 and I grew up there…

Totally different. She wasn't withher friends. Or anyone. She was alone and bored and lonely. Because she was dumped in there by herself to wait for the rest of the family.

To all the PPs saying their 10 year old goes to the park alone, goes out to meet friends etc. This was totally different. It was an unfamiliar city. No friends. What's a 10 year old going to be doing for at least 40 mins in a play park all by herself? Who would she be playing with? 10 year olds are not toddlers who run up to the nearest child and start playing a game. I think that more than marking her out as a potential victim for abduction as being visibly alone, it was an unkind thing to do, leaving her bored off her head in a playground in an unfamiliar place.

Sounds like she's being dumped in a playground in a strange city while her family go off and do their run. Does she want to be in the playground? Would she rather be left at home? It doesn't sound irresponsible, necessarily, just a bit mean. Unless she's completely fine with the arrangement, of course.