Am I being over protective?

[alwaysaskingquestions]

Would you allow a 15 year old girl to take their 7 year old brother to the end of the road to play on the beach alone?

Would you allow the same two children to go to the park at the end of the road alone?

If not why not? Age of girl, age of boy, or the two? If not when would you?

Yes if i regarded her as being sensible. Wish there was a beach at the end of my road

It depends how responsible the 15 year old was ?- I was a very grown up 15 year old and often cared for other peoples children taking them out etc and at 16 i looked after my new baby brother 5 days a week 8am-8pm caring for his every need ..Is she a grown up/street wise 15 year old? :)

depends how sensible the 15 yr old is, and how controllable the 7 yr old is!
I think I probably would.
can they both swim?

It does depend a bit on the 15 year old (and I suppose on the 7 year old) I certainly would, but I'm also a Brownie leader and our pack/young leaders tend to be 15-16 and we would anticipate they could look after a few 7-8 year olds without any major issues... (with suitable adult cover within reach)

Yes they are both boringly sensible and they adore each other, so there is never any fighting between them, so no fear that the younger one would get in a strop and not listen to what his sister said.

Why are you asking, OP?

I have a 15 year old DD. She would be very sensible if in charge of a 7 year old brother, though in our case she's the youngest so doesn't apply in practice here.

Still, what's the issue for you?

And due to location of the sea, they are both strong swimmers.

It depends on both the maturity of the 15 yr old and the behaviour of the younger child.
If you know the younger one is a handful tis not fair on even the most mature 15 yo to have care of them at a place like a beach - park might be OK unless the 7yo is prone to leaping off things etc

I've let my friend's fourteen year old daughter take my seven year old out.

It depends on the children.

Some teenagers are responsible, other aren't.

It sounds daft, but they keep asking me if they can go, and I'm saying no. And the only reason I'm saying no, is I fear that some busy body would see them down there with no adult, and I'd have SS knocking on my door for abandoning the children.

If a busy body did interfere, I wondered if SS would say 'oh that's okay at that age' or whether I would get into trouble.

My 15 year old DD has just read this over my shoulder and said, "Well, that's just like babysitting. The big sister would be very conscious of the little brother cos she loves him so much and she wouldn't let him go off alone, or get sunburnt, or drown".

I did this afternoon with a 13 year old and 8 year old!

Why not start them off at the park and see how it goes before agreeing to the beach?

Also, mobile phones are a god send with this sort of thing...at least you know you can contact if necessary.

If SS got involved (they won't) you'd have MAGPIE behind you. And they'd crush THRUSH.

But you do let them go to the park, don't you?

(I can see that the beach has a bigger set of worries, but you DO let them go to the park, don't you??)

I don't for the very reason I mentioned, not due to lack of trust in my children, but the fear of being seen as being irresponsible for allowing them to go.

In our house, I leave the two of them if they don't want to come anywhere with us.

What are the actual babysitting rules/law regarding appropriate age?

There is no law, and the guidelines all contradict each other.

Yes I would. This would be quite an ordinary thing to see around my area (north Norfolk).

GO FOR IT!!!!

LET THEM GO!!

Yes you're being really over protective. Let them go.

Right is this unanimous on this thread? If both 15 and 7 year olds are sensible, will listen to each other, and will stick together, and were seen playing nicely by other members of the public that you would allow them out unaccompanied?

And SS are highly unlikely to call me irresponsible?

Why would you think SS would be watching your DCs? (Serious question, actually). It never occurred to me that it might be an issue, so I let my DCs go about in various combinations of under-age gaggles. I thought it was a good way to develop their independence. All risks assessed, all possible dangers talked through etc etc.

You will be fine.

Gawd things have changed, when I was 9/10 I would regularly cycle the 4 miles along busy roads to a stunning but very dangerous beach. We were trusted to be sensible and use our own instinct. I feel for kids these days, being raised with an element of fear that we're being constantly watched. T'is worrying and I understand why you're concerned op.... but at 15 she'll be fine.

I would let them go. She is the responsible "adult" in this situation which is fine for short periods of time. Not that anyone is going to be asking.