Quick poll - Leaving 16 year old at home instead of family holiday

[Claybury]

There is NO chance I would leave my 16 year old DS home alone while we go away and he is happy to come with us this year, but he keeps hinting to us that most of his friends are staying home alone this year- they have just finished their GCSE's.
I know teenagers love to say ' everyone except me is allowed ...' But a quick poll , would you ? And I don't mean with a granny supervising.

No!
The sort of 16y who's happy to come on the family holiday is the sort who'd be safe to leave.

The 16y who wants to be left is exactly the sort of teen who'll get up to mischief.

Very very unlikely.

We have every intention of making holidays worth coming on for as long as possible!

Yes I would.

Have left DS (16) for a couple of nights before. But we were only an hour away so could have returned easily.

His DF and my Dsis are both within a 10 minute drive if he needed them.

DSS (17) was left at home when his DM went off for a week. He was fine too.

I don't think (?) that any of ours would host wild parties. But who knows.

I was left for a week at a time from being 16. (someone had to dogsit) and (mostly) behaved.

Yes have left mine if they wanted from being 16. No disasters and no complaints from the neighbours. I trust them and they have never betrayed my trust.

Yes, I would leave my daughter (17) for up to a week. I trust her totally. Not sure about my 13 year old - she's shaping up to be more of a party animal...

Personally, I would. It'll be a make or break. Offer up the boundaries; if a party is thrown, they will be grounded for entire summer. Ask neighbours to keep an eye out for visitors (one or two will be normal, however any more than 5 should raise alarm bells) and perhaps to pop in once or twice to check the house. Good luck!

I would have to give advance warning to the National Grid if I left DS (17) at home alone. I seems to spend my life turning off lights in rooms he is no longer in when he is here. Any why on earth he needs to put lights on in a room when the sun is shining in, is beyond me.
My DS wouldn't arrange party - that would be too much effort - he would probably spend the entire week in his room, in his PJs playing on his tablet and only coming out of his room to find food or go to the bathroom. Guaranteed I would come back to a pile of dirty crockery in his room and the kitchen would look like a bomb site.

My 21 and 18 year old love coming away with me. Actually I love being with them too but as a teenager (16) I had a brother who was 8 so didn't want to go away.

Probably not. But we left 17YO DD on her own for four days recently and it was fine. We knew she probably wouldn't have a party as she was going to two parties.

Legally they can live on their own at 16 so I would say yes.

At 16 (imagining my 14 and 12 year olds in a few years) I would let them stay at home for a few days, but my sister lives round the corner and I'd have her keeping an eye on them.

If she wasn't around, I might let them for a weekend but not for a week or more. I can't imagine my 14yo being quite that independent in 2 years time that she'd be fine for a week or more totally alone.

This makes me sad, dd 16.5 won't come to Spain with us this year. My folks live there which makes me even more upset. I'm not going to force her, and her dad and my sister have said they'll be around, but I'm gutted she doesn't want to. We get on great, will just be a sunny holiday to see grandparents, but no chance.

I just left DS(15, 16 next month) for a couple of nights for the first time and it was fine. No parties, he had one friend over for one night. It may help that his deputy headmaster lives opposite and has our house keys...

I wouldn't leave him for a whole week yet as I don't think his domestic skills are up to it.

My sister and I were left for 2 weeks at 15 and 17. we had been away on a youth group holiday for the two weeks previous so came home to an empty house and had to sort ourselves out dealing with the fallout of two weeks camping in a very muddy, wet field! We hadn't been left before but managed. Yes we had the odd party, but no harm done. This was 30 years ago so no mobiles etc - I think our parents rang once

Sorry if I have missed it somewhere but I take it there will be no older and responsible brother or sister who will be at home. We left my son at 15 with his 18 yr old sister for a long weekend. Plenty of neighbours to go to if a problem. At 16 I would have left her on her own but not him. I am not convinced that when he is 18 I would leave him unless his sister will be there. You have to go with your instincts I think