Kirstie Allsop's 15 Year Old Son

[ImAFemaleVersionOfRoyKeane]

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!

😂😂😂

This. Better than a summer on a gadget

Think it’s fine. Think kids need more of this to be honest. Not enough unsupervised exploring happens in my opinion and I think it’s one of the reasons young people struggle as adults these days
I I agree with this.
I see the lad is 16 tomorrow. I encouraged ds2 to go camping in Scotland to an area he kmows well with his friend when he was 16 a few days after hiis birthday. We don't live in Scotland!! He had the time of his life mountain biking and hiking.
Ds1 was older, he was 17 when he did the Prague ,Krakow, Paris trip. You have to be over 16 to book into an I tarnation youth hostel. There was a couple of mishaps,one included missing a flight but him and his friends worked through any problems themselves.

Too many young people are not encouraged to be resilient or resourceful.

Haha, yep. The accommodation thing if you're under 18 is a nuisance. I can understand why it's done though. DS's partner is 21 so she's organised the accommodation.

Puts my mother refusing to permit me to go on a day trip to Brighton with my friends for the end of GCSEs somewhat into a context of her being unreasonable, doesn't it?

Didn't matter in the end, I found myself a boyfriend with a car two months later and never went 'home' again.

Is it really any of your business @ImAFemaleVersionOfRoyKeane

You don't know her son or how mature he is, or if, for example, there are family friends or relatives in Europe who could help out if needed.

Stop judging other mums?

Depends on the person. I was up to all sorts from 14. I was confident and sensible, even though I was pretty wild.

My DS is about to get GSCE results and is least confident of my DCs. But he’d be fine with a sensible mate. Been using public transport in London alone since 12 and faced street robberies etc.

Money and knowing people in those countries helps a lot. If anything goes wrong, they book into nearest hotel. Doing it without much money, even for family to bail you out, is much tougher.

Apart from the under 18 accommodation issue, I'd let my DS do this. Depends on their maturity surely.

Agreed. I went to work abroad for a year at 18; I’m sure I could have interrailed with a mate at 16. We could only afford the friend’s aunt’s caravan in Kent at that age! My parents went into the navy at 16/17 - I’m sure my mum would have expected me to be able to travel at 16.

He was probably youth hostelling or staying with friends - I’ve just been abroad and all the hotels had a minimum check in age of 18.

But however he did it, good for him, and his parents. I know someone who knows her and has a very high opinion of her.

Having said that Im amazed they managed to get accommodation but perhaps they met up with various friends and relations along the way and stayed there
Ds1 stayed in International hostels when he was under 18.
Many if them, especially in mainland Europe are practically hotel standard with their rooms and facilities.
I occasionally book a si e room in a hostel when I'm away, especially in Berlin where I go to my favourite one.

I did this at eighteen and I’d encourage my own sons to do similar at that age.
I think under 18 could be practically tricky though, as pp said you can’t even stay in a bloody premier inn under 18 in this country and you can’t have a credit card which would be useful in emergencies

I lived away from home (halls of residence) at 17 to study my degree! I just had to learn about life and get on with it.

Kidd need a chance to make mistakes and grow.

At university I met someone who had backpacked round the world and worked in New York and Pakistan. Lots of people were in awe of this lad.
Me being the cynical creature I am asked a few questions and quickly established that he'd worked at his dad's rather big company and what he described as backpacking was actually flying first class.

Words are beautiful things.

Revolut card is great if you cannot apply for a credit card.

I read it and thought 'good for him'. Then immediately started thinking about that being a great thing for my own kids to do one day.

I think London teenagers can be very grown up and streetwise.

I wouldn't judge Kirstie for this. I bet her children are very confident plus he'll have been well funded so won't have had to sleep anywhere dangerous.

DS will be getting his Revolut card loaded before he leaves for his destination. He has cash too but that's not as safe. Mainly for tipping.

Much much less of an issue on the continent, certainly when it comes to hostel accommodation.

Most of my European friends (and DH) were far more independent than me and my peers were in our teens. DH upped and moved to the country we live in now when he was 17. In fact our teenage family members brought up on the European mainland are far more confident and sensible than our teenage family members brought up in the UK. The difference in them is stark.

Absolutely not in normal circumstances. 15 is very young. I didn't have my first abroad holiday until I was at least 18/19 and inter railing requires a much more detailed itinerary than hopping on a plane to Malaga!
That said, I suspect they will have had help. Possibly a chaperone, certainly loads of money and people looking out for them. So not really your average teenage holiday.

Ha! Like people who say they’ve done up their gaff. But turns out they just paid someone else to do it.

Sounds like a great way to spend the summer to me.

I read threads on here about 16 year olds who can't be trusted at home overnight, or who have never caught a train by themselves before, and I do wonder why their parents don't seem to have done anything to prepare them for adulthood and university.

I remember moving into halls and there were people there who didn't know how to use a washing machine or make a basic pasta dish 🙈

Mind your own business??

I think between school and university is a more appropriate juncture tbh.

I did it myself at 16 all over Spain. The summer before my parents had packed me off to a foreign country to learn the language while living with s local family. I was just 15 at that time.

It opens your mind to an unimaginable extent.

My son is not very adventurous but he's certainly been flying on his own to see family abroad since he was 12.

at 15/16 my guess is the kids stayed with friends and family along the way as most countries in Europe dont allow under 18 s without an adult - as I learned when trying to book accommodation for my kids post gcse European jaunt - I ended up having to send signed permission on a copy of my passport to a nice hotel!

a school mum thought I was very irresponsible to do this but I felt far more confident than with a druggy festival. I trusted the kids going