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Original poster

Would you let your 12 year old go to funfair alone?

143 replies

NervouslyWaiting1 · 21/03/2026 12:56

She doesn’t want me to go with her, she’s going with her brother who’s 10. She’s used to taking buses and using Google maps, but this is a 40 min journey and 2 buses. I’m worried that they would get separated or lost , would you let your child go to a funfair alone?

OP posts:
Tryagain26 · 21/03/2026 17:15

No, definitely not if she is in charge of her 10 year old brother. She is too young for that responsibility.

Mosaic123 · 21/03/2026 17:13

Absolutely not. Don't even think about it.

ThatInbetweenBigCoatAndJacketWeather · 21/03/2026 17:09

Funfairs near us always seem to attract a dodgy crowd including gang behaviour (and our town is quite nice normally!), so no way.

GargoylesofBeelzebub · 21/03/2026 16:24

Not a fucking chance!!

Jopo12 · 21/03/2026 16:17

Nope. And certainly not in charge of a 10 year old
You can take them and hover in the background keeping an eye on them.

Sleepingbaggage · 21/03/2026 16:15

Thesnailonthewhale · 21/03/2026 16:01

A 13 and 10 yo Being put in a train that goes in one direction and getting off at a known stop to meet a known adult there is not really the same thing as a 12 and 10 yo wandering round a fair 40 minutes and two bus rides away...

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We did the two bus rides thing literally every school day from 11.

HoppityBun · 21/03/2026 16:06

NO!

Original poster
NervouslyWaiting1 · 21/03/2026 16:05

I wouldn’t let her go with her brother anyway, but she’s very switched on and responsible so I thought for a tiny second it might work. She didn’t want me to go with her, so I said we either go together or she doesn’t get to go to the funfair. She ended up going to the park with her brother and met a friend there. She’s on her way now home now :)

OP posts:
Yardbrushes · 21/03/2026 16:02

Absolutely not.
I would go with them and perhaps let them off on their own while i had a coffee.

Strollingalong · 21/03/2026 16:01

Firm no. I remember the Moors Murders and shudder at the thought of unaccompanied children at fairs.

2catsandhappy · 21/03/2026 16:01

Dear God No! All sorts of creeps, pickpockets, phone thieves, gangs, no, no, no.
The youngest might get overwhelmed, be too excited to listen.
If there were a group with an adult, maybe.
Why don't you want to take them and make sure they are safe?
There is so much, too much, that could go wrong. Drop them off, sit in a cafe and take them home all happy and fizzy.

Thesnailonthewhale · 21/03/2026 16:01

Sleepingbaggage · 21/03/2026 15:46

When I was 13 my parents divorced. My sister (10) and I were put on a train in Manchester by ourselves, and met in central London by our dad. It was fine. We were fine.

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A 13 and 10 yo Being put in a train that goes in one direction and getting off at a known stop to meet a known adult there is not really the same thing as a 12 and 10 yo wandering round a fair 40 minutes and two bus rides away...

Thesnailonthewhale · 21/03/2026 15:59

How odd that you don't think the 10yo shouldn't be going

Createausername1970 · 21/03/2026 15:55

If it was in the local area, walking distance of house, local park etc., then maybe - depending on the personalities of the children in question. Are they both sensible and would the 10 year year old listen to the older one?

A 40 minute bus journey away? Nope.
I would say I am accompanying them there and back, but they can do their own thing when we got there.

Sleepingbaggage · 21/03/2026 15:46

ColdAsAWitches · 21/03/2026 14:27

We're you minding a 10 year old all those times too?

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When I was 13 my parents divorced. My sister (10) and I were put on a train in Manchester by ourselves, and met in central London by our dad. It was fine. We were fine.

Sleepingbaggage · 21/03/2026 15:45

Suedoh · 21/03/2026 14:14

There's always one 🙄 this is a FUN FAIR. Not school, not town, a fun fair

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It's a funfair, not a brothel. They will be absolutely fine.

justaboymummy · 21/03/2026 15:44

If she’s a switched on savvy 12 yr old I would allow her to go with a group of friends during the day but I wouldn’t allow it once dark or if it meant her travelling home whilst it was dark.

I absolutely wouldn’t allow my 10 yo to go along with her though.
I wouldn’t allow my 10 yo ds to go to the fair with his 15 yo sister in all honesty i think its too much responsibility for them.

Shinyhappyapple · 21/03/2026 15:44

Well, yes I did my 12 year old go to a fair without me, but they were with friends and the fair was in our local town.

In your situation, no. I would not be happy for a 12 year old to be responsible for a 10 year old on what is quite a long journey and then into a situation where they could easily get separated.

StormyLandCloud · 21/03/2026 15:40

Of course not! Ridiculous idea, way too many things that can go wrong

pizzaHeart · 21/03/2026 15:39

No, and my mum wouldn’t let me either. And I was very independent at this age and it was 80s when children were roaming streets freely.
I also wonder why they don’t want you to go with them ? It’s suspicious in my book. Especially as she is ok with younger brother going. None of my 12 y.o friends would be excited about it - younger sibling was usually a burden not a joy.

AddictedToBooks · 21/03/2026 15:39

As someone who was addicted to funfairs and whose dad worked on a funfair, absolutely not.
They're dangerous places to be and even when I was a teenager, my dad hated letting me go to the fair despite me being aware of the dangers.
My first worry would be undesirables looking for kids to intimidate or worse but also how dangerous the rides can be if they're not maintained correctly.

I would give them a choice - they either go with me and I'll hang back a bit so it's not obvious that they're with Mum, or they don't go at all.

XiCi · 21/03/2026 15:33

Not a chance,why would you even consider this? If she doesnt want you to go with her then she doesnt go, end of story

Clearinguptheclutter · 21/03/2026 15:29

On his own maybe (def yes with a friend), in charge of his 10 yo brother, no

FloralDeerPattern · 21/03/2026 15:29

I was going tp say yes because I'm pretty sure dd did at that age but the funfair was a 10min walk down the road and she went with friends. In the circumstances you describe no.

Judgejudysno1fan · 21/03/2026 15:27

No, I wouldn't and if I did i would be watching the live 360 like a hawk. My boy and girl are same age and she walks him home from school but im on the phone to them most of the time and it's a 15 minute walk that they only started doing end of last year.

There are lots of creeps hanging about at funfair, dangerous rides that they think they could do and come off ill or hurt, so many things to consider....