If you were in a hotel in a seaside town, would you allow a 13 year old and 7 year old to stay in the room

[Lardlizard]

On their tablets while you and your dh looked round the shops for an hour/an hour and a half ?

The 13 year old is sensible
Has a phone
They get on v well and both well behaved ?

So you wouldn’t be far away
And contactable by phone
And they understand if the fire alarm goes off to leave the building a d call us

The hotel is in the town centre so we wouldn’t be far away

[Aragog]

Depending on their relationship, yes. If 7y will listen to 13y it's fine.

At 13y I was babysitting for my cousins and my little sister, all would have been under 5. I babysat my sister so mum could work a couple of hours a day.

Obviously of either have send making them more vulnerable, or if all they do is fight, then no.

[HasaDigaEebowai]

Im not sure why the laughter about people saying no. My DS2 at seven could not be controlled by a 13 year old if he kicked off or he got a notion in his head to come and find us or something.

I'd leave the 13 YO but not the 7 YO

[Frannibananni]

Yes. I would. My children would be fine to leave there for a quick wander round the area. They would definitely be happier to do that than do something they hate. Probably safer than them hanging round outside the shops still on their tablets which is wha they would do if they came with us.

[Holdingtherope]

The people saying no 😂

[MJMG2015]

@Lardlizard

Thanks for the replies and opinions
I wanted to let them stay and chill in the hotel and dh didn’t so we dragged them round with us
Makes me wonder when he will feel able to leave them as you have to start somewhere, as don’t want them to end up 18year old incapables

I understand DH's reticence.

I'm normally the one saying 'they'll be fine' letting them walk to school, play at the park, stay home alone etc, but I wouldn't be keen on leaving them in a hotel room.

Maybe DH would be happier if you start leaving them at home alone rather than a strange hotel in a place they don't know...

Or maybe he didn't want to go shopping, I'd have blamed the kids too 🤣

[thishouseisashittip]

Definitely not.

[Clymene]

Yes I absolutely would and I probably have

[IdblowJonSnow]

No I wouldn't.

[AnnaSW1]

No I wouldn't

[PullTheBricksDown]

But why would you want to go out in the lashing rain to look round shops anyway?

So you've walked 20 miles a day the last few days but you were desperate to do the above rather than have a couple of hours of down time in the hotel with your kids who just wanted to chill out for a bit? It's not the leaving them alone bit, it's the 'can't let them take it easy for a while' bit..

[nicerbeing]

The Blackpool comment surely means to the OP and her DH not to waste their time shopping in Blackpool

[myhobbyisouting]

"Why ? What's going to happen to them if the hotel's in Blackpool?"

Didn't you know the evil killer zombie outbreak has already started in Blackpool?

[saraclara]

Yes, of course. I wouldn't think twice! The oldest one is13! She has a phone! And it's not like she's responsible for a toddler.

MN is another world sometimes. I really feel for a lot of kids these days.

[midnightstar66]

Yes, well you know your dc but in the case of mine where the eldest is only 10 I'd say by next year I would and by 13 wouldn't question it

[toomuchtoworryabout]

It's ok for people to say 'actually, they do' when someone pops along and says 'I imagine' and 'usually' because it's a string indication that poster doesn't know what they are talking about, which is indeed the case
Oh, ok then.. next time I’ll be sure to do a comprehensive list

[Grobagsforever]

@toomuchtoworryabout

I would imagine this would violate the hotel’s health and safety policy and possibly invalidate their insurance.
Children (ie anyone under 18) are not usually allowed to stay in hotels unless an adult over 18 is present. I imagine this applies to the daytime as well as overnight.

[PercyKirke]

Yes. Wouldn't give it a 2nd thought.

[nicerbeing]

@toomuchtoworryabout

Actually, my original reply to this thread stated that MOST hotels do not let children under 18 stay unsupervised, and lots of posters then jumped on that statement saying but Premier Inn do from age 16.

16 or 18, it’s actually irrelevant because the op’s child is 13!

It's ok for people to say 'actually, they do' when someone pops along and says 'I imagine' and 'usually' because it's a string indication that poster doesn't know what they are talking about, which is indeed the case. It doesn't matter why you said it, but don't take my response to that comment and apply it the OP situation.

[ChanklyBore]

Yes I would.

But 20 miles a day for three days in a row at age 7? I’m a keen walker and regularly do long distances. The last time I did a seaside trip with a lot of walking at that age we struggled to get past 10-12 miles a day. I can manage 20 plus miles a day myself but have never been able to squeeze that mileage out of my 7 year old despite regular attempts and them being good walkers.

[ilovesooty]

@Bunnybigears

Yes unless the seaside town is Blackpool then definitely not.

Why ? What's going to happen to them if the hotel's in Blackpool?

[Holyrivolli]

You’ll always get the overprotective worriers who will want to wrap their kids up in cotton wool until they’re 18+. In the real world most parents would base it on the children involved. If the 13yo is sensible and the 7yo is not a wild pain in the ass then an hour alone with technology is absolutely no problem.

[simonthedog]

I would leave the 13 year old but take the 7 year old.

[toomuchtoworryabout]

Actually, my original reply to this thread stated that MOST hotels do not let children under 18 stay unsupervised, and lots of posters then jumped on that statement saying but Premier Inn do from age 16.

16 or 18, it’s actually irrelevant because the op’s child is 13!

[vanillandhoney]

@toomuchtoworryabout

”If a 13yo isn't capable of getting themselves and a 7yo out of a building safely then they shouldn't be being left at all”
But this is exactly my point!!
Not all 13 year old will be capable (even if the op’s child is).
That why I would bet my bottom dollar that it will be against hotel policy to leave children that age alone. And IF something were to go wrong and the staff didn’t/couldn’t keep the children safe then I bet there would be SOME parents out there who would try to blame/sue the hotel and that is also why I think it would be an insurance issue.

Lots of hotels allow children to stay alone in rooms well under the age of 16, though. Yes, the parents have to have a booking at the same time, but I often stayed in my own room from the age of about 12 - and I'm not talking about adjoining rooms either.

I've often been given rooms on separate floors to my parents before, and I was certainly under 16 years old at the time. So if hotels are happy to let 12 year olds have their own room, surely they must also be happy for them to be left unsupervised for a few hours?

[nicerbeing]

Premier Inn let you book and stay independently from 16!“

But the op’s child is not 16, they are 13 and 7

Oh for fucks sake. Honestly. Talk about taking a quote out of context. That little snippet of mine in bold that you responded to was in direct response to a comment saying hotels do not allow under 18s to be in the room alone. It was nothing to do with the age of OP children or whether I thought that should stay in a room together alone for an hour. Nothing at all.