What age should i let my children go to town?

[Nykola1234]

My sister in law is letting her children travel to a large city 80 miles away from where we live by train on their own. They are 11 and 13, I think this is too young but now feel pressured into following suit with my daughter. Am I being unreasonable, do kids this young do this now, I didn't think so.

I think you would be silly to do it straight off! Let her get used to going to your nearest town by public transport first and work up.

That seems a bit much to me but every family and child us different.

That seems a long way to be going at quite a young age. I think I was about 11 when I was first allowed to walk 20 minutes into town with a friend (this was in the mid-90s).

I was perhaps 13 when I first got the bus to the next big town, about 15 miles away.

I was 17 the first time I went to London on my own by train (about an hour away), and I was petrified!