To think a 13 camping alone is fine

[Mrbojangles1]

My son is currently as i type camping out in the harden started last summer ( we couldnt get him back in lol) but my sister seems out raged

He has his mobile a torch and lots of blankets i think he is more than old enough to sleep in his tent outside on his owan aibu

I assume he hasn't camped continuously since last summer! Don't see what the big deal is - a teenager in your own garden. I assume it's a safe and secure place - what could go wrong?

Sounds fine to me

Not sure why he'd want to do it alone though, why not invite a friend?

At thirteen? In your own back garden? Of course it's fine. Let your sister be outraged.

Good grief! What on earth would she say to my ds who has been camping since he was 8

I agree YABU, 13 is way too old to camp in the back garden the first time.

Sounds fine. When I was 13, my friends and I pretty much lived in tents out the back of the houses. Think it's a good thing, invite a friend over for him and they can cause mischief together :)

Yeah me and my friend were camping in the garden from about 10. Sounds completely normal to me, but this is mumsnet...

WorraLiberty he ejaoys a good sleep and really dosent like staying up late when we have his cousin over he has to sleep in the spare room not sure his mates would be so understnding

DS2 lived in the garden for months weeks when he was 10 or 11 trying to remember He said being in the house was too stuffy! I did put my foot down at him wanting a camp stove! He went trekking/camping in India when he was 17 with his school I hasten to add

He's camping in your garden? And who thinks this might not be OK? What could possibly happen?

I had visions of you sending him into the wilderness alone to make a shelter out of nothing but spit and twigs :o.

YANBU. The back garden will be fine. I basically moved into a tent in the back garden during the summer at that age.

Sounds like a lot of fun for the summer.
They usually come back in when they get cold and hungry.

No, I wrap my DCs in cotton wool it seems, but even I would be ok with this. Ask your DSis if she is bothered enough to want to join him!

I originally read this as 13 month old. LOL

Your sister is nuts if she thinks this is wierd. What does she think will happen to him?

Mine started camping in the garden at age of 7.

YANBU.

thinks she might suggest this to DS11

YANBU. I think that's fine and will be great fun for him. He can just pop back in if he gets uneasy.

I, on the other hand might be BU at the moment.

I'm fretting about letting my (just)14 year old DD and her BF (best friend not boy friend, also just 14, female) camp out in a field owned by BFs uncle. It's surrounded by countless more fields (with a B road running nearby) and the nearest house - the uncle's - about half a mile away. They're both sensible girls ...

Eek.

I've said yes. But it's a borderline one. It is to take place next weekend.

Sorry to steal thread briefly OP.

WWYD?

Why wouldn't he camp out in his own back garden at 13?!

I used to love sleeping in the tent in the back garden( well till about midnight 1am ish when I got cold and went back indoors!). He'll be fine and like you said he has a phone to call if he gets scared

i don't know your garden but unless its a 20 acre plot or backs onto a woodland open to the public, i would say camping in the garden is not just ok, its ideal for someone of 13. developing independence skills, getting a sense of freedom and capability, while not actually at risk - it seems like an excellent starting point. and a really good way for you to get used to him being independent, too.

fluffieraggies. No!

'What could possibly happen?'

She's probably thinking of the abduction and murder of Sophie Hook in 1995. Parents of that era were touched by that event, it probably would tip your risk perception.

I don't see a problem with this. YANBU.

The murder of Sophie hook took place not far from me and I remember it well. My dd who is nine sometimes sleeps in our neighbours tent with their children of a similar age but I have deep anxieties about it, but I try not to let it show.

Im sorry but I couldnt let any child of mine sleep alone in a tent

I think the first time I did it I was about seven. I did have an alsation sleeping outside my tent though :)