is 11 too young for a going into town alone?

We live rurally

I'm glad I live in a city.

Made my son so much more aware, going to school on the bike, out (and home) with his mates.

And thank fuck I don't need to be a taxi driver.

He's travelled all over the world by now. Like me

Sorry OP, not helpful I know....

With me?

Well the wonderful thing is that I can 100% guarantee that your DD won't get beaten up in a Woolworths like @OonaStubbs 😅

How do they get to school

11 was the age in which I started going into town with friends. Still at primary school. It was fine. I did get beaten up in Woolworths by some chav girls but that was 2-3 years later.

It’s fine, my DD’s did. Around here the youngsters are out without parents from 10/11 even swimming right by the no swimming sign in the marina

Definitely some people on here that will not allow their children to grow up and be independent! My children were catching a bus home from secondary school at that age ,sometimes wandering into town before coming home. I never gave it a second thought . What on earth do people think are going to be the consequences?
I was actually more bothered when they walked home cutting through local woods and being a bit isolated.

Its the perfect age to start in a local town to build up independence.

It also depends on her friends. Are they all sensible? And how many? What happens if they want to play in a town park and your dd doesn't for example? What will she do? Do the girls have a plan? Hanging out where, exactly?:)

My dd was a bit older, about 13-14, but would have been fine tbh.

I do let her get on with it though. Dd tells me some if her friends have to call or message their mum every 30 mins, which kind of ruins the trip and seems to cause stress all round.

I think if I trust her to manage in town with a friend, she shouldn't need constant monitoring.

My dd was doing this at 11. I guess it depends on where you live and how sensible she is. They are already walking quite a distance unsupervised to school so it feels similar to me

Too young imo, I’ve only started letting my 11 year old walk to the shop alone.

Dc1 (aged 10, yr 6) did this recently, i dropped them with a friend in town, they walked to the cinema, met friends, watched film, wandered round for an hour then called ne to pick them up. They were all fine and had a great time!

Large Market town, we live rurally, tiny hamlet.

Crikey indeed...

😬

Too young !

OP, if you don't let her do normal stuff, how will she ever learn? Or would you like her to be 16, or 18, and still not confident to go out on her own?
And ditch the tracker - that is just pandering to your own anxieties, and does nothing to benefit your child.

Absolutely fine.

I think it's fine. My dds started going to school on their own in central London since Year 7 and it's full of 11 year olds making their way across the city. It's the right age to start being independent with friends. They do need to be prepared by learning to navigate on their own, use public transport etc, but that's something we've done since the dcs were tiny.

Wow some of these responses!

Those of you who say 11 is too young, not if it's a city – you do know that thousands of DC aged 11 and over go to school in London on the tube and the bus on a daily?

And the country – with rapists jumping out of bushes? They really are not. I mean is that what people really imagine? It’s worrying tbh. Gosh we need to live our lives. Yes I know people get attacked but the reason you hear about it is bc it is very very rare. You don't hear about road crash deaths bc sadly it is much more common.

In terms of safety @PeanutPies – the safest thing is to give your growing up daughter some safe steps towards independence – of which this is one. If you never let her do things for herself until she is 15 it will not be helpful. She needs to learn to meet an issue (went to buy milk, didn't have enough money for sweets as well) and deal with it (bought cheaper sweets). That's how we can rear our DC to be young adults.

Yes it is fine for sure. All of mine were rising 11 (year 6) when they first met friends in town (maybe dropped by me or going on the bus).

Has she had some independence already @PeanutPies ? I am thinking walking to the local shop to get milk, meeting a friend to go to the movies just them (you drop and collect) or walking home from school without a parent? Does she get left at home now and then when you go out? Those were my first steps with my DC. I might be a bit more wary of the trip to town if they had not done any of those things.

My DD is 11 (nearly 12) as well. I wouldn't let her walk to town with her friends yet, but I would drop her off at the shops and wait for her/pick her up again. Our town centre is fairly small and she knows her way around very well.

She walks to and from school on her own, which is about 25mins. The walk to town is a similar length but the roads are a lot busier so I wouldn't feel as comfortable yet. I'd maybe let her get the bus but she probably wouldn't feel confident enough to do that by herself.

I’d feel safer with her in a town with cctv everywhere than in a quiet village surrounded by woods with rapists potentially jumping out of bushes

Define "town"? Central london or Manchester- not for a first timer.

Local town/small city - fine? Lots of secondary age kids will travel through town to school daily with their friends aged 11.

It depends on how you have brought her up to some extent. Have you taught her to cross roads safely, buy things in shops with you looking on etc. I let my kids go into town at eleven. With three friends for company, she should be fine.

Is it a countryside town or a big city? I live in a city and wouldn’t allow an 11 year old walk about freely. Too many thieves and addicts.