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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would you report a 12 year old unattended on a train?

300 replies

GloGirl · 22/03/2021 00:09

If you saw two 12 year olds on a train without a grown up would you report it?

"Any adults who saw two 12-year-olds getting off a train on their own should have questioned that."

YABU - call the police!
YANBU - no, I wouldn't

BBC News - Missing Balloch schoolgirls spent night locked inside train
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-56476935

Really weird story.

OP posts:
willibald · 22/03/2021 02:24

No

PeggyHill · 22/03/2021 02:25

No, that would be absolutely ridiculous.

WonkyCactus · 22/03/2021 02:34

The mother is being ridiculous. I'd be interested to hear the views of the parents of the other girl involved!

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 22/03/2021 02:44

12yos routinely use the train to get to school where I live, so no, I wouldn't be reporting it at all, unless they were up to badness.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 22/03/2021 02:47

I get that the mother is being over-reactionary in the come down from her anxiety, but she's also being silly.

The train people need to be taken to task for failing to do a proper walkthrough and check on the train before locking it for the night though!

Spidey66 · 22/03/2021 03:00

No I wouldn't. As others have said, they goto school on their own. Even outside school times and/or longer journeys I'd assume a parent had put them on one end and another parent (e.g. parents no longer together) or grandparent/aunt or uncle was meeting them the other end.

The mum needs to look closer to home if she's looking to blame someone.

Wondermule · 22/03/2021 03:02

Wtf? I took the train to school alone when I was 11...

Honestly MN are going to have kids living in glass bubbles before long...

MessAllOver · 22/03/2021 03:28

No. I'm sorry the girls have had such an unpleasant experience but really they mostly have themselves to blame. I have some sympathy for the mother though, as she must have been worried sick.

minisoksmakehardwork · 22/03/2021 05:02

I wonder if the girls jumped off before the walkthrough and Back on once the driver had been past? It's the k it way I can see them having escaped being found.

Soubriquet · 22/03/2021 05:06

No I wouldn’t even notice them if they were well behaved

I mean 7 year olds I might raise an eyebrow but not 12 year olds

VinnieVanLowe · 22/03/2021 05:29

This is exactly what I thought when I read the story - no I wouldn't do anything, and may well not even notice a pair of 12 year olds on a train.

The mother is just trying to blame everyone else except the children. Of course you can hide on a train - if they were simply falling asleep in seats they would be seen on the drivers walkthrough. As others have said I reckon they hid in the luggage spaces between the seat backs, or even under the seats, or got off and back on.

She's also blaming the staff at the ticket barrier for sending them away when they were trying to get through without a ticket. They were doing their job ! If the children had said they had no money and couldn't get home the staff would presumably have contacted their parents or the police. Instead they waited to sneak past later.

SpiderinaWingMirror · 22/03/2021 05:35

They didn't think it through and hid from the driver so as not to get caught and ended up locked in.
Simple as.

Literallynoidea · 22/03/2021 05:38

The mother is a total disgrace. Parents need to parent.

I do hope some poor train worker doesn't get into trouble because of these two ne'erdowells.

MitheringSunday · 22/03/2021 05:43

@mrsmalcolmreynolds

In their parents' shoes I'd be concentrating on (a) giving my 12yo a huge rocket for thinking getting on a train without a ticket was OK and (b) thinking about how to develop better judgment in my kid.
Completely this.

I certainly wouldn't be trying to blame other people for my child's stupid decisions and my own parenting failings.

MsTSwift · 22/03/2021 05:54

No I wouldn’t. Dd2 is twelve taller than me size 8 feet and looks about 25 some days

en0la · 22/03/2021 05:57

No, I wouldn't give it a second thought if they were in school uniform. If they weren't I'd probably notice them but not think it was odd at age 12 or so.

cryh · 22/03/2021 05:58

No, I probably wouldn't - I get trains locally and there were (pre-covid) often pairs or groups of people this age getting on and off on the route.

Saltyslug · 22/03/2021 06:00

The train driver must have a duty of care to check the cartridge before locking it?

It’s fine got the girls not to have phones but surely there would be some internal alarm that could be triggered?

Saltyslug · 22/03/2021 06:02

Also the girls should know how to get help if they are allowed out and about. They should have explained to the ticket person that they were stranded and asked for contact to be made with this parents or police

AlpiniPraline · 22/03/2021 06:02

@Bopahula

I don't buy for a minute they fell asleep either. 🤔. They hid thinking it was funny.

Mum is blaming everyone but the kids and her parenting.

Agree with this
cryh · 22/03/2021 06:03

@Saltyslug

The train driver must have a duty of care to check the cartridge before locking it?

It’s fine got the girls not to have phones but surely there would be some internal alarm that could be triggered?

They walk through, but no I don't think it reasonable to expect them to look for hidden youngsters!
Oblomov21 · 22/03/2021 06:04

No. Report them? Of course not. How stupid.

SimonJT · 22/03/2021 06:05

It would depend on the time.

I once reported a child who looked around 11/12 years old to tube station staff (yes, I was amazed to find them too!) as they were on the tube alone at almost 11pm.

Oblomov21 · 22/03/2021 06:09

The mum is blaming everyone else. Hope no poor person gets sacked because of this.

ArtemisiaGentle · 22/03/2021 06:11

I know someone who got drunk on a night out and was locked in a train in a siding near Dartford once. He fell asleep. He woke and rang National Rail Enquiries for help. He was freed about 2 hours later. Grin

I work for Transport for London on the Tube. It's common practice for our operators and station staff to do a check of trains before "putting it to bed" in a siding, platform or depot to ensure no one is left behind. But on National Rail I understand this is not the standard and people do get stuck.

These two girls were up to mischief and if I was the mother I'd be blaming them not ScotRail or anyone else. It's common in London to see 12 year olds on tubes and trains either alone or in groups. As someone who works in PT I might only be alarmed if I saw them late at night. I have rescued tweens before who have gone on adventures and have had to call the police to get them home again.