What were DS (9) and DS (7) doing outside at 2.30am?

[TroublesomeTrucks]

My DSs aged 9&7 are in serious trouble this morning. Background: our front door is set back from the road and the house is long and narrow along the road. DSs bedroom (shared by their own choice) is at one end almost above the front door.

Last night at 2.30am the door bell camera caught the pair of them going out of the front door and walking round to the front of the house, I would guess to approximately where their bedroom window on the front of the house is, before coming back in about 30 seconds later (staying inside the front garden, so nowhere near the road or pavement). They were empty handed so if they’d thrown or droppedsomething out of the window they didn’t find it. They claim they ‘wanted some fresh air’

I don’t know if it’s connected, but they were already in trouble because when it came to handing over their chrome books at bedtime, they told me they couldn’t find them (not unusual) but then I caught them using them under the bed covers.

What the hell were they up to????!

I used to do this with my siblings, we'd go out for midnight 'ghost' walks and scare the shits out of each other...ah the innocence of childhood!
Check their internet history, but I reckon they were just adding a bit of adventure to their lives!

I snuck out to the garden with my next door neighbour when I was 10 we just stood in the garden a bit freaked out and then claimed it was boring so we went back in. We just done it because it seemed exciting but it was creepy. We got caught and never done it again.

I know there is an issue of escaping houses if there's a fire but I would put some kind of lock on to prevent them going walkabout.

I have children of similar age and they don't even have the courage to come downstairs at 2.30am to get a glass of water let alone leave the house. Check their browser history and confiscate them.

@DramaLlamaAlwaysLaughs

Didn’t you ask them what they were doing? Followed by a lecture about the dangers, then a series of restrictions until they grew up and weren’t so bloody stupid

"the dangers"

Which are those exactly? They had a walk around the house...

Hmmm, either the late-night airiness about absence or the tablets thing on their own wouldn't be so bad, but both together look to me like they're disrespecting you. Like basically they don't need to be honest or do things they're asked to.

You don't have to go off on one, but explain why what they did was a bad idea and reiterate that you expect honesty.

At that age, I gone out of my window and sit in the garden in the middle of the night watching stars when I couldn't sleep. Night time seemed so fascinating and enchanting, and bit of adventure but felt safe being inside the vicinity of the house.

Maybe there's some innocent reasons why they did it, nothing sinister if they just stayed inside the gated area.

I'm so surprised about the comments on this thread, I'm actually shocked that kids of this age are able to get out of the house in the middle of the night and people think it's amusing!

@StrangeCondition

I'm so surprised about the comments on this thread, I'm actually shocked that kids of this age are able to get out of the house in the middle of the night and people think it's amusing!

Did you really never sneak out when you were a kid?

I think it's a pretty common thing to do.

Shenanigans. For the sake of it.

Well, two boys , not much between ages, and sharing a bedroom,, they could conjure up some things to do out of hours,, and secretly of course. Some adventurous children do things like this, as they think it is exciting., and they forget about any consequences afterwards.

@TigerLilyTail I can honestly say that no I didn't!

Ha ha. I remember doing exactly this at that age! The sheer thrill and terror of being outside in the dark in the middle of the night.

It's totally normal kids high jinx OP

Could it have just been to see if their bedroom light could be seen turned on from the outside with the curtains drawn?

That’s why they only went out for a short duration.

I used to arrange to meet my sibling outside at midnight, usually one of us or both of us would fall asleep before midnight. I think it’s just the thrill of being out in the dark without permission. I also used to plan to meet my cousin at night but we never followed it through 🤣.

I think it’s just normal child behaviour, wanting to do something naughty and a bit scary.

@OfstedOffred

And I dont think it's normal at all for 7/9 year olds to go on an "adventure" at 2.30am.

11 & 13 maybe but not 7& 9.

Really?!

At 8 my friends and I left my garden where we were sleeping in a tent, went for a walk around the village and then came back at 3am and made a fry up (which was disgusting and inedible as we thought you had to fry everything in an inch of marg... bleurgh).

I had previous for adventures, at 6 I led an escape party out of the school yard, up the steps to the ginnel in the woodland behind the school... 'to catch a fairy'.. (in reality a knothole in a fence through which light was shining, which in the dark of the woodland looked pretty sparkly to me). All five of us had our bottoms smacked with our parents permission for that one (through clothes, school did at least draw the line at knickers down bum smacks!)

I know that was 35+ years ago, but kids ain't changed that much!

[quote StrangeCondition]@TigerLilyTail I can honestly say that no I didn't![/quote]
My brothers and I used to do all kinds of dumb shit when we were kids.

Maybe they had to go outside to talk to or lay down an offering for Slenderman

I'm 40 now and I never did this...for the people that did venture out how long ago was this??