13 yr old wants to hang out in town

[babyface]

What's reasonable? We live near (2miles) a small town. Dss wants to cycle in to hang around with 'friends' (Not from his school.. not sure exactly who but around his age ). What age do you let them head off and what info/ rules do you ask for? Said no and it didn't go down well!

My 13 yr DD goes into town (bus ride away) to hang out and shop with friends. These are school friends but I don’t know them as not from our primary. She has her phone. I don’t see the problem.

My DD 11 gets a bus into town alone with her primary school friends and they have lunch and shop together and then all catch the bus home again.

My 13 year old gets the bus into town to meet up with her friends (has been for a while) - I do know them now, we tend to be the sleepover house, but once she started high school there were a whole bunch of new friends that I didn’t know from primary

They tend to go to Starbucks, buy some tat from the £ shop then get the buss back

DS is 12 and meets friends from school in town. They hang out, buy something to eat or drink, play games at the hobby shop. I would be concerned if he was meeting kids but he couldn't tell me how he knew them. If, for example, they were kids he had met at the hobby shop, or knew from Scouts, and they were a similar age to him then I would be fine with it.

How does he get to school? Does he not catch a bus/walk etc? Providing he is sensible enough to be trusted why not?

I'd be fine with this. Providing he's not going to cycle on busy main roads. I assume he has a mobile? Maybe check out who he's meeting. Friends you know is one thing, potential 18 year old would raise an eyebrow

2 mile bike ride will take maybe 20 mins? Just make sure he texts you when he arrives and just checks in every so often. Set a time when he's expected back and tell him to call you once he's heading back. Maybe get him a portable power bank so he can charge his phone in town, and make sure he has a helmet. Although I'm sure he will take this off once he's out of your sight.

I used to get a bus into the local town for secondary school alongside every other child in the school and would go into the local town on my own at about that age and meet with friends. My parents would give me a lift to town if they were heading that way, then catch the bus home. We lived very rural so biking 5/6 miles was normal for us. Don't think I had a mobile then either.

You mean in the daytime? Yes, age-wise it's fine. I'd want to know who he was with, though. Mine started doing this sort of thing from about 12 - trips around London to go shopping with friends, etc (we live in London).

I just give my DD (12) and DS (13) a key each, wave goodbye and shout let me know when you'll be back. They've literally been really independent a long time. They are just the best.