Would you let your 10ds walk home at night?

[Foxton20]

Ds goes cubs and is due to start scouts this term. Dh normally takes him and collects him as it finishes at 8.15 and he leaves for work when he’s on nights at 8.30.

Dh works shifts some two Monday’s a month he won’t be able to pick him up.

It’s 0.8m and takes 15 mins. He has a mobile phone and it’s a straight road past shops.

I don’t know what to do 😩

No

Yes, @zoobican, that is my experience.

I sure if you have experience SS taking issue with a 12 year old being left for half an hour with a sleeping 3 year old that there was a lot more to the case. There is no way in a million years that as an isolated situation this is anywhere near the SS radar.

Whether there was a lot more to the case or not, it was regarded a serious issue that a 12 year old wasn’t even ALONE in the house but just watching their sibling whilst mum was taking a quick shower/putting washing out. Honestly, the beliefs here on MN that SS aren’t sometimes utterly unreasonable floors me. As if professionals are completely incapable of behaving like arseholes at time’s to get the result they want.

It depends entirely on where you live, I'd have thought.
If I lived in the local town, I wouldn't have a problem with my 10yr old DS walking home at all as there are pavements and it's well lit.
However, we live rurally, off the main B type road and the nearest village is 2 miles away and there are no street lights or pavements so DS would be walking on narrow winding country roads at night, which really isn't sensible.

Whether there was a lot more to the case or not, it was regarded a serious issue that a 12 year old wasn’t even ALONE in the house but just watching their sibling whilst mum was taking a quick shower/putting washing out.

Whether there is more to it is VERY relevant. Under normal circumstances, such as in the OP, it's not an issue, let alone a serious one.

Honestly, the beliefs here on MN that SS aren’t sometimes utterly unreasonable floors me. As if professionals are completely incapable of behaving like arseholes at time’s to get the result they want.

Oh it does happen, but you explicitly said that in this situation it would be regarded as a safeguarding issue by SS. It really would not.

Not a chance, I’d keep the toddler up late and walk to meet him leaving the 12 year old at home. He should too young to walk alone at night and it’s not the 12 years old responsibility to provide childcare.

Not in the dark no. My dd started walking home from school at 11, but we live in a small village with lots of children and adults walking at the same time. I'd not have let her walk home from brownies that late