Kirstie Allsop's 15 Year Old Son

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Kirstie Allsop has just posted on X (Twitter) that her 15 year old son has just returned from inter-railing around Europe.

He was accompanied by his 16 year old friend.

AIBU to think this is too young?

These situations may seem OK but at that age they think they are invincible, so they can be impulsive and not make the best decisions, especially when something goes wrong!

I did allow my dds to go to Italy and Greece with groups of close friends when they were eighteen, between school and university. But I knew the friends and many of their parents

You 'allowed' them? Because you 'knew the friends and many of the parents'?!

At 18 they were adults. You couldn't have stopped them even if you'd wanted to; an adult can go wherever they like and with whomever they choose. This is so infantilising and really sheds some light on why so many teenagers are a bloody nightmare to employ these days. And why so many of them struggle to adjust to university.

Kirstie used to say she won’t send her boys to boarding schools like Eton like her dad. But she went to Bedales at Sixth Form so perhaps her DS will be off to Sixth Form boarding after all? So it is a good way to ease him in? I think teens growing up in London have quite a lot of freedom typically as many travel to school and meet up with friends on public transport from an early age so if you can navigate London, then presumably navigating eg Amsterdam or Berlin is not that difficult and if her kids are at a London private school (assumption here) then they have probably been on school trips all over with school already anyway. I don’t see this as a big deal. It’s quite standard in many European countries to let 16 plus travel and go away with friends on their own.

I think it's amazing. I wouldn't have been confident enough to do that at that age (or this age, tbf!) and I don't think my children, although I definitely don't infantilise them (my 8 year old has just walked to Tesco up the road to pick up loo roll and bread by himself!) would be ready to do this, but what an amazing experience!

I would love ds to do stuff like this, but I can't even get him to go to a supermarket or meet his mates. He's been walking to and from school since yr 7.He wants to go to uni in a couple of years, but I'm not sure how he thinks he's going to manage- unless it's up a mountain with no people around.

It's a tricky one because IF anything had happened to her son whilst traveling she would be vilified by the trolls online for ' allowing' him to travel when he isn't an adult yet.
You can't win in this kind of situation and I know plenty of people who would judge this as being almost negligent on her part.

KA knows excatly what will gain her attention and she likes nothing better than telling us how they do things is so very different to how the plebs do things

he has been at boring school for years, encouraged to be independent from an extremely young age (which is utterly bizarre to the rest of us), will most likely have that extreme confidence elite privately educated children so often have, will have endless pot of cash and most probably have a number of friends who they can just pop in and stay with

she will love the outcry this will create

My DDs were amazed to hear about my year 6 trip, back in the day (late 70s, I think it was year 1 then?), so I was 10/11.

It was a camping trip to Delft in Holland, we all got a coach there. One of the day trips was to Amsterdam. The coach dropped us all off at a central point and the teacher broke us up into groups of 3 and told us to go sightseeing, do what we want for a few hours and meet back at the coach at a certain time.

Imagine that these days!!

I wonder if celebrities should all go into one place and post what they plan on doing to seek permission from the public

"I am planning on having my child's 5th birthday party these are the details is this acceptable? If I do this will I be accused of doing it for instagra what about this will people be jealous? Does this bit pass the I have no life so want to dictate what celebrities can and can't do test'"

Ot wasn't too young for them
Not your choice.

It really wasn’t. I agree I bet he’s had a fab time & an awesome trip. It’s lovely his parents could get him set up to do it and let him go.

The ones I’ve known in Europe are fine for 16yos to stay in them. 16 and 17yos are meant to have a letter from a guardian but Dd hasn’t known that happen. I booked an Airbnb for Dd and her friend in Paris once and it never crossed my mind there might be an issue (there wasn’t). Dd was 18 then but her friend was 17. Only issue was at the border coming back, customs separated them and quizzed them as they were concerned a 17yo was travelling without permission and were asking DD’s friend for a letter….she didn’t have one so they let them go 😁

I did the same when I was 15, but on my own...41 years ago. August birthday, so I was nearly 16. Still ranks as probably the best holiday I've had.

Does this mean we can leave ds at home for a week and go on holiday without him? I know there's no actual law, and it used to happen a lot in the past, but I've always thought leaving 15b yr olds home alone overnight was at the least frowned on.

Surely if a 15 yr old can go travelling, they can stay home?

Spot on.

In these days of tracking devices and constant contact I think it's actually fine. He's wealthy and will have had decent safe accommodation. He's with a friend.
As long as he's a sensible kid which I assume he is,I don't see the problem. Probably very confidence building for him.
I'd be terrified if it were my son, yeah, but I do actually think this will have been an amazing rewarding and worthwhile experience for this boy.

My parents left me at home at 15 whilst they went to India for two weeks.
I was completely safe, went to school, cooked etc
However it was very lonely and sad as I was an only child. So I think I'd not do that for that reason.. not for safety as a sensible 15 yo would be completely safe at home alone for a week. It's just they are still very young and might miss you.

Mine wouldn't!😁 He only emerges for food. He loves it if we go out and the house is his.

I posted her ds will have boarded apparently he hasn’t but most certainly went to an elite school that installs independence from a very young age

it’s not how the majority feel their children need to be

I agree. It’s so odd in the U.K. that so many kids seem to get taken to and picked up from school, even in late primary. Where we are in Aus most children get the train or public bus or walk/cycle to school from year 3 or 4. Because there are loads of them, there’s little risk.

My kids have got the public bus from around age 8/9, and this has meant occasionally dealing with bus break downs etc. My oldest is now doing D of E as well and had to organise his own volunteering and expedition.

Even things like making them order their own food in restaurants from a young age, tell the barber what they want, have their own money and deal with shopkeepers from a young age. Weirdly Covid helped with this as I gave mine a lot of freedom to get them out of the house so they would go down to the local shop, 5k cycle away to buy sweets from 7 and 9.

Totally agree that this fosters a sense of confidence and cotton wooling won’t help them in the long run.

Yabu. My dd went to Ibiza the summer after GCSEs with 2 friends (one 16, one just turned 18). I went “inter-railing” the summer after GCSEs with my 16yo friend - but we did it on buses/ferries rather than trains and stayed in hostels which allowed 16yos. We had great fun, if you bring you dcs up so at 15 they can’t catch a bus, sort out a timetable, do a bit of shopping and meal prep, book into a hostel etc then of course they won’t be capable of doing it, but the vast majority don’t parent like that. When I did it we had our route nailed down and all our accommodation booked before we set off. It was pre internet but we had phone numbers and maps and my friends dad got a Barclaycard in my friends name on his account for emergencies ( we had none). So much easier now with google maps and online booking.

I think it’s fine as long as he is sensible and has some friends of yours to call on if he’s worried about anything.

Why wouldn’t it be OK?!

I just thought you weren't allowed to leave them overnight or extended overnights until they were 16.

It’s for attention for sure, she probably has a new series and independence in post covid kids is a hotish topic.

But I don’t think it’s going to create an outcry - why would it? Teens going interrailing isn’t odd, he’s just a wee bit young because young for school year. Most parents want their teens to be independent, or I hope they do.

You are - I mean you can’t leave them at home if it puts them a risk, which for a sensible 15 year old it wouldn’t

I would certainly leave food, have a plan for people he can check in on, but in these days of endless comms it’s especially fine

You will get some overprotective parents raising their eyebrows but most people will think it’s fine. Given they can leave home from 16, and even though they probably won’t you want them to work on growing into an adult btwn 16 and 18, it’s good to have a sensible early path to independence through the teen years

On the basis of what information would you be making that bet?