12 year old asking to hang with 14 - 15 year olds

[skgnome]

I know every kid is different and end of day is my rules… just checking what others think, will do
My almost 12yo meet a group of 14-15yo on comic-con, they all love the same games/anime - they seemed nice and innocent (for teens) kids
group of kids knows each other from school, my 12yo goes to a different school - they said they hang on the park all the time and invited my 12yo to hang with them
they are not precisely local (20-30 mins) bus ride (other side of town)
my 12yo wants to hang with them on Halloween (after school) - I’m not convinced about it, but don’t know if I’m being overprotective or not
just wondering what others would think?

So not an average 18th birthday party then. Not the same thing lol

My almost 12yo meet a group of 14-15yo on comic-con, they all love the same games/anime - they seemed nice and innocent (for teens) kids
Lots of anime is not that innocent. The anime community has aspects which I really find quite concerning for a 12 year old without you being fully aware of.

group of kids knows each other from school, my 12yo goes to a different school - they said they hang on the park all the time and invited my 12yo to hang with them
How the fuck did they meet? Online? Just hanging out at the park? Red flags all over the place here (your child is at risk here - county lines)

they are not precisely local (20-30 mins) bus ride (other side of town)
my 12yo wants to hang with them on Halloween (after school) - I’m not convinced about it, but don’t know if I’m being overprotective or not
A bus ride, so not local, on halloween? To do what exactly?

Why do 14 and 15 year olds want a 12 year old hanging out with them??? By choice?

This might be completely innocent, but you've got kids you don't know and you don't mention parents, hanging out in the park unsupervised. They don't go to the same school and they want to hang out for halloween.

Er nope and indeed nope. Not overprotective. I don't think you are being protective enough!

Not in this case. My 11 year old DD often hangs out with our 14 year old neighbour but at each other's houses or the tennis club (they are both keen players) nearby. I wouldn't be happy with the other side of town with kids and families I don't know.

I'm pretty laid back as a parent but this would be ringing alarm bells for me too. I would at the very least be meeting the boys face to face myself. But to be honest any children I have encountered who hang out with much older children end up doing things that are not age appropriate. Next year these boys will be 15/16, they will be experimenting in way that is normal for kids of that age, drinking, maybe even a joint, sex or at the very least talking about it A LOT. They will keep being more advanced than your child and your child WILL try these things too, except he won't be at the developmental stage to be able to handle it as well.

Agree with everything here. The OP is very naive.

@Sux2buthen But that's my point, if someone invites a younger child to do something, it's unlikely to be something too grown up! They're going to go to the park not a crack den!

None of the things you are going on about are in the post though 😂
This is a young kid being invited to 'hang around' with older kids, not what amounts to a family party with loads of supervision.

The park after school is where certain substances are obtained in this town.

Exactly. That and a whole list of other reasons it wouldn't be be happening.

I have 12&15 year olds. No.

Absolutely not. This is a recipe for disaster. I'm surprised you'd even consider it, the age/developmental gap is far too big.