How much independence does your yr8 / 13yo have?

[jonnyjannoo]

He's NT, but can lack common sense (which I think is probably completely normal for his age!).

It's getting a little trickier now nights are getting darker.

What are your DC's this age allowed to do by themselves / with friends?

(For context we live in a London borough, school is a 20min walk but he often jumps on the bus).

dc cycles to and from school on their own.

sometimes meets up with friends at the arcade or a shopping centre (tram ride).
we did practice the most likely routes in the holidays and practiced map and timetable reading.

we have a few of rules

• dc must ask for permission
• tell us where and who they are with
• must answer their phone/respond to messages promptly
• be home at the time previously agreed

ime dc on their own are more observant of their surroundings because they have to.

Dd gets bus to school or cycles to friends and walks

Gets 20 min bus to friends, go to a hobby on a 20 min bus away, comes home at 7pm

Gets a 15 min bus to the gym and does a gym session

I put her on a 2 hour train to her grandparents, they collect her

She does not use the tube yet or trains alone

Thanks. Would they still make their own way home at 7pm at this time of year so when it's dark? DS is quite happy to get the bus back from his friend's house but I'm wary of him doing the journey now nights are drawing in.
That said, he'll head home from school on the dark at 5pm if he's had a sports fixture etc.

Yes she finishes her hobby at 6.30 and is home by 7pm - its a straight bus in a busy part of zone 2 so not really dark like it is in the countryside

My Y7 comes home in the dark by herself from school by tube, if she has an after school club. If it’s not a busy commuter time, I meet her at the station (so after about 7pm) but otherwise I rely on her texting me when she leaves and knowing when to expect her. I can also track her phone, just in case she forgets to text.

She spends time in the park or the shopping centre with friends, but only when it’s light. And she takes herself on local bus and tube journeys, to visit friends.

We are rural so our yr9 is dependent on us for lifts but can walk/ cycle /run to village shop/ tennis courts - that's it!!!

Wow, surprised at what your Yr 8s do independently. We are rural too.

My Yr 7 cycles to the village to see a friend, and walks the last 0.5 miles to school again with a friend after being dropped off. That’s it.

My DS year 8 now has to be home by 5:30/6 at the latest. Sometimes he will go to a friends after school - for example they've been taking it in turns at friends houses to watch the football. If it's late then I will pick him up, a few times about 7/8 I'll get him to call me and I'll chat to him the whole way home (he has you here siblings and I'm single so can't always pick him up) I also have find my Apple phone so I know where he is. He's fine with that as means he doesn't have to constantly update me but he'll generally ask if he wants to go somewhere different. Generally they go to local town, goals, park of friends houses. He recently went a couple of towns by bus to asda to get some prime and asked. Tbh I'd rather he be out and about and learning his way than be on his PlayStation so that's fine with me. We're suburbs but with good transport links and he can navigate Apple maps and public transport. Only thing he hasn't used really is trains or been upto london I think probably next year Summer I'd be fine with that. I think I'm quite relaxed and open though as were my parents.