Would you leave 8/9 year olds at the cinema alone?

[Yougotthatvibe]

Took my Dc to the cinema the other day and saw a mum from my area, don’t really know her but have seen her on Sm. I know she works and travels a lot.
Sat down with Dc and her Dd and a friend went to sit down and mum then left.
Kids were laughing a lot, running up and down the stairs.
When we came out, the two girls were waiting by the entrance of the cinema and her Dd constantly calling her on her Apple watch thing.

It made me a bit uncomfortable but am I being overprotective? Cinema is in a large, indoor shopping type place.

I don't have children but apart from and 8 year old could get up to left alone, I have encountered far too many creeps on the cinema as an adult to even consider this being a good idea!

Do you know they are 9 or are you guessing?

I think you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum though, not allowing your 8 year old to walk to the bathroom is quite intense.

Bit OTT 😂

Yes!

There’s not going to be less chance of a fire or terror attack if they were 12 though, this is hardly a reason!

Do you think so? To sit up in the cinema and her to go down the stairs and out alone to the toilets? I obviously just wait outside, but weirdos can be anywhere

Also def 8 or 9 as the girl was in my Dds ballet class when younger

I wouldnt, mine were probably 11/12 when they went alone, 8 seems young to me, mainly because they probably wouldnt sit quietly if left.
I would never have worried about terror attacks or fire or even perverts tbh but only I they were disturbing others.

my 15 yo and 12 yo went the cinema yesterday - I didn’t feel comfortable leaving the 12 yo so just stayed. It’s just decency for other people in the pictures who have also paid for a ticket to watch the film in peace and to supervise / be there for any situation that may occur. It’s 2 hours of your life as a parent or carer.

id have left mine... long enough to go and report them. you said 8-9 but they couldn't climb the stairs by themselves??

Having been in a cinema several time where unaccompanied kids have been behaving like twats - no!

generally 8 years olds are less used to taking responsibility for themselves than 12 year olds, are more likely to get scared than a 12 to. there's a significant difference in maturity between a lower juniors child and a high school child

It’s very wrong. It’s unfair to others who paid and there are a lot what can go wrong e.g if it’s reclining seats there is a danger of things falling down, in our local cinema the corridor fire door is opened sometimes when it’s warm and kids can accidentally go out at the wrong (and not so nice) side of the building, there is a potential problem of older boys, etc etc .
I would say two sensible year 6 in a familiar local cinema with a mobile phone - yes but not younger.
And I would expect parents to come back on time by the end of the movie.

Too young for me , my biggest concern would be if they needed to use the toilet, you just don't know who's about.
I think 11 is ok.

I'm with op, it's so easy to get turned around and forget what number screen you are in, easy enough for someone to see them going into a loo alone and follow or stop and approach them between loo and screen

Not even from a safety point of view, unsupervised kids running riot in a public space? I don't think so.

No I wouldn’t say a 12 year old would be any better at dealing with a terror attack alone.

Left mine at age 8 and 10. Sat in the pub outside. They knew how to behave though - as they should at that age!

Absolutely not, my eldest is 13 and I would just about leave her and a friend. Absolutely not at 8. My 8 year old would not want to be left in the cinema alone either.

Not good practice leaving children that young ,I think teenagers are fine as long as there well behaved

I try not to judge mums but hard no, i wouldnt do that

Tbf, I'm not sure WHAT the age would be for managing a terror attack alone.

But at 12 they're more likely to have been out alone, so for example if they find themselves following a crowd out of the building thry have more idea of where to go or how to ask fro help.

I think it's unlikely most 8 year olds (who are still being taken to and fro mschool daily) have the same life experience as a 12 year old who's catching a couple of buses to schooleach day, going into town at weekends with their mates etc.

Blimey, ‘back in the day’ - I travelled to the Cinema in town aged 8 on a Saturday morning to the ABC Minors (it cost 5p to get in). Hundreds of kids all alone watching films for 2 and a half hours.

No one of them was shouting to the other that she had to wait for her as she didn’t like/couldnt go up the cinema steps on her own-quite steep

This is what I said above about going with mine to the toilet and a poster said I was over the top