Parents of children in London ...

[nappyaddict]

This is a follow on from another thread but a poster on there made a very good point. She let her 12 year old go to London without an adult and people were shocked. But what age do London children go shopping with friends? I live near Birmingham and was travelling there by bus and train from the age of 11.

I'm a Londoner who has moved out of London. I currently let my 10yo walk into town on his own. If we still lived in London he would probably be using public transport on hisz own when he went to secondary school, so I would see no reason not to let him go into town on his own at 12. But only during the day, not evenings.

I grew up in London and travelled to school on the tube/train from the age of 11. I certainly wasn't unusual and I don't think anyone was driven to school unless the school was en route to the 'office' for one of the parents. I also travelled around London at that age to see friends on the weekend - obviously only during the daytime (again the majority of my school friends were the same). Looking back it was one of the joys of growing up in London as I didn't need my parents to ferry me about.

But...

I now have 3 DDs (aged 4 and under) and I don't know what decision I'll make when they are 11/12. The world is (portrayed) a different place to 30 odd years ago. Nevertheless in my neck of the woods (west London) most secondary school kids travel across London for school without adult supervision.

Sorry to waffle but I guess what I am saying is that I wouldn't be shocked at all if I heard of a 12 year old traveling about London. Perhaps it is different if a child is traveling in from outside the city? I don't know

It's an interesting one to think about isn't it. If it's only say 1-1.5 hours away by bus or train then what is the problem with secondary school children travelling in on their own to meet up with friends etc. It's what children in the rest of the country are doing to their local cities surely?