to leave ten year old twins in a cafe while I swim?

My DD did this ar Costa, ( although was year 7 at the time simply because that's when it first opened) Made sure she sat in the window with her hot chocolate with marshmallows in so the other schoolkids could see she was in there lol

Sounds absolutely fine to me, OP. I'm a bit baffled by some of the responses you've had.

I will be in a London cafe tmw & Saturday, I will do a headcount of unaccompanied preteens & report back.

Why not?

There are kids just turned 11 who make their way across London on multiple forms of transport every morning. What do you think happens inside the M25?

When I was 5 I went to school by myself on the bus with quite a walk either and a road to cross .. zebra crossing.
At 6 I was taking a younger child with me.

At the weekend the kids wear uniform??

Minus that how can you tell one kid of 10 years 11 months and one of 11 years 1 month apart . It's doubtful not matter how much " practice" you have as a teacher

My condolences!

Also in London and yep, perfectly normal for 10 year olds to be able to have some independence.

@BlueFahrenheit it must be location specific, I don’t think my 12 yr old has ever stepped inside a cafe alone. I just don’t think it’s the target market for them.

Some of the replies on this are so strange. Of course it's fine. Honestly think my sensible 7 year old would be fine too (but I wouldn't do it because I know other people wouldn't think it was acceptable).

It really is. It’s a rite of passage where I live for year six kids to be allowed to walk to Costa, meet friends for a hot chocolate and walk home.

I am massively protective but I actually think if you think it’s fine then yes it’s absolutely fine. If you know they won’t fight and are happy just to stare a tablets then yes I totally would!

@Timeforachange26I can generally tell, being a teacher helps, years of practice! Also the uniforms often give it away & many schools have different “badges” on their uniform to denote a year group.

I think it sounds a lovely arrangement OP for both you and your boys. If they're sensible and well behaved then I don't see any issues with this.

“However, NSPCC local campaigns manager Gail Sayles told Yahoo UK: “Typically many parents start letting their children walk to school independently around nine to 11 years old.”
She also emphasised that “one size doesn’t fit all” and it is important to take into consideration the route your child will take, including busy roads and how long it will take them.”

Fear not, it seems many dc are allowed. to travel to school alone so need to worry about a generation of hermits!

OP is talking about her twins so they wouldn’t be alone

How would you know if kids are 10 or 11 though

Completely agree’

Absolutely this.

The over reactions on this thread… about cafe staff having to provide childcare… are utterly unhinged.

They are year six. Ten years old. If you haven’t brought your ten year up to be able to sit and behave in a cafe for 30 mins then they are going to have big problems when they go to high school.

I have never seen a village of 10-year-olds sitting alone in a cafe. Not once.

I did this with my nieces aged 7 and 10 when I went to Pilates. The cafe and the studio rooms are next to each other. They had drinks, snacks and their books and it was for an hour. I know the studio space well, I signed a waiver at reception and also got permission from their parents. There was no problem. If it was just one child, probably not, but I think with the two kids it should be okay. They sound as if they are sensible enough.

It isn’t the norm for 10 yr olds to be in cafes alone though, all you need to do is sit in one & you will notice this.

This thread has a lot of anxious parents on it and has left me with my jaw hitting the floor. A normal 10 year old does not need supervision minute-to-minute. It would be perfectly OK to leave them in the café or watching from any other waiting area. Many Year 6 kids walk home from school alone and go to shops on their own, and I'm sure a few with the funds go to cafés too. My kids have all gone for walks on their own or with friends at that age, gone to the shops, been left home alone. It helps to build independence and confidence.

OP, go for your swim and stop worrying about it. And Mumsnet will give you a weird impression of what the consensus of most people would be. I love Mumsnet for its relationship advice etc, but you do tend to get a disproportionate amount of anxious parenting responses on here.

I’m just going to throw a wild guess out there that the OP works. I’m also guessing you don’t!

Yes, there’s risk averse, then there’s MN risk averse, which is another level entirely, where 10 year olds can’t be left alone in a cafe in case they choke, or their mother drowns, or it might actually be illegal!