What age would you allow your child to walk around town on their own with a friend.

[Arisbottle]

Small town, one small shopping centre and a main shopping street.

Parents dropping them off and picking them up.

Although I've either got DDs who are too independent, or I'm just a really lax mother. However, they're fairly mature, don't really take risks and they have phones (and always have credit) and they know Stratford and Newham (where we live) like the back of their hand. And I always make them check they have credit on their phones, know the time at all times, and know when to be back.

It is rare that we would go out with just dd, so often her independence involves going sonewhere with an older sibling.

Some good advice on here , with our eldest one we would let her go off while we were in town . We could perhaps use Christmas shopping as an excuse to do similar with this dd2

12/13 I think but it was 25 years ago