Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

What age would you let your child do this?

79 replies

londongirl12 · 14/06/2025 15:03

Outdoor shopping centre with restaurants outside. There’s a play area right outside next to the restaurant. What age would you let your child out to the play area on their own? No roads around.

OP posts:
TheresAGlitchInAParallelUniverse · 14/06/2025 15:05

Depends. Is it busy and not possible to have sight of them at all times?

BethDuttonYeHaw · 14/06/2025 15:05

5 or 6

WhistleBlower8 · 14/06/2025 15:09

Is the entire playground visible from the restaurant? If yes I'd say 10+

wafflesmgee · 14/06/2025 15:10

if visible 10 plus, if not 13 plus but also depends if it’s empty or with other known children

Choppedcoriander · 14/06/2025 15:12

The restaurant is outside too? And the playground is right next to it, fully visible? Maybe about age 5.

arethereanyleftatall · 14/06/2025 15:13

If you can see it - 4 or 5

JustAMum35 · 14/06/2025 15:13

BethDuttonYeHaw · 14/06/2025 15:05

5 or 6

@BethDuttonYeHaw Bloody hell! 5 or 6 is extremely young for that 😳
I agree with others - entirely depends how viable it is etc. Minimum 10+ provided it’s in full view of the restaurant and you can have eyes on them the whole time.

Natsku · 14/06/2025 15:14

Can you see the playground from your table? If so, 5 or 6.

TheresAGlitchInAParallelUniverse · 14/06/2025 15:15

11 is high school age. Kids generally start walking to and from primary alone age 10 in preparation for going to high school around here so I feel, on a play area where I could see them, age 8 + is fine. If they couldn’t be seen at all times then 10+.
It obviously depends on your area though tbh.

NerrSnerr · 14/06/2025 15:15

Can you see them?

If you can’t I’d now probably consider my two at 10 and 8 but they get on well, would stay together and I’d check a lot.

WhistleBlower8 · 14/06/2025 15:20

arethereanyleftatall · 14/06/2025 15:13

If you can see it - 4 or 5

You'd let an under 4 year old be in a playground on their own?

AppropriateAdult · 14/06/2025 15:20

wafflesmgee · 14/06/2025 15:10

if visible 10 plus, if not 13 plus but also depends if it’s empty or with other known children

You wouldn’t let your child be in a playground without parental supervision until age 13? Presuming no additional needs, that seems wildly over-protective…

Choppedcoriander · 14/06/2025 15:22

WhistleBlower8 · 14/06/2025 15:20

You'd let an under 4 year old be in a playground on their own?

No one has said “under 4”. Where did you get that from?

Fratolish · 14/06/2025 15:28

Depends on whether I could see them the whole time, on whether the play area was enclosed and what equipment was there. If it's a similar scenario to soft play where they can't get out, they can't come to any harm on the equipment and you can see them most if not all of the time then yes, 5 or 6.

Fratolish · 14/06/2025 15:31

If it was a park that was separate from the restaurant, they could theoretically leave the park and go anywhere and I couldn't see them then I'd say more like 9 or 10.

IanStirlingrocks · 14/06/2025 15:38

I’m not sure I’m imagining the right thing with the age range going up to 13 but a playground right next to where I was eating and where I could see him I’d say around 7/8 depending how sensible.

It depends on the layout a bit I suppose, younger if there’s no way out of the playground apart from past where you’re sitting, older if they could easily get out onto a carpark or road from the playground.

Wolfpa · 14/06/2025 15:43

wafflesmgee · 14/06/2025 15:10

if visible 10 plus, if not 13 plus but also depends if it’s empty or with other known children

You would wait until they get into high school?

Beetletweetle · 14/06/2025 15:44

We need a diagram

BethDuttonYeHaw · 14/06/2025 15:44

JustAMum35 · 14/06/2025 15:13

@BethDuttonYeHaw Bloody hell! 5 or 6 is extremely young for that 😳
I agree with others - entirely depends how viable it is etc. Minimum 10+ provided it’s in full view of the restaurant and you can have eyes on them the whole time.

I live in Scotland where we let our kids go out to play. So not extremely young here. Completely normal.

at 10 I doubt many kids would want to play in a play area outside a shopping centre. They are usually design med for younger kids.

BethDuttonYeHaw · 14/06/2025 15:45

WhistleBlower8 · 14/06/2025 15:20

You'd let an under 4 year old be in a playground on their own?

If you can see them - what’s the problem

ThePhantomoftheEcobubbleOpera · 14/06/2025 15:46

10+? Aren't your children walking themselves to school at that point? Surely they can negotiate being out of sight in a playground?

reluctantbrit · 14/06/2025 15:46

Lots of playgrounds are boring for 8+ year olds unless they are taking pre-teens into consideration when designing it.

IF the child is in general responsible, we already had a looser experience at home then I would say 7-8.

Smartiepants79 · 14/06/2025 15:46

wafflesmgee · 14/06/2025 15:10

if visible 10 plus, if not 13 plus but also depends if it’s empty or with other known children

What? You wouldn’t let your 12 year old child go 1 minute walk away to play on a children’s park??? Unless you could see them.
All of the secondary age children I know travel on buses and bikes independently every day. They go shopping and to clubs without a parent. Do you really mean that you don’t allow your teenage child out of your sight at any time??

thatsawhopperthatlemon · 14/06/2025 15:47

I can't imagine any self-respecting 13 year-old wanting to go to the playground. They'd roll their eyes at you witheringly and go back to scrolling.

ninjahamster · 14/06/2025 15:48

If you can see them at all times, about 5. If not, about 8.

Swipe left for the next trending thread