Letting 15 year old Son travel to Europe by rail

Involving social services was crazy and social services should have known better. It beggars believe really. I’m not a bit surprised that KA is outraged.

Does that apply to all referrals to social services or just those involving high profile parents? If social services get a phone call about Mrs X at number 40 allowing her child to do something potentially dangerous should they just ignore it or do some sort of base line check? Whoever sparked the check, and whatever their motives, social services can't arbitrarily decide that famous people don't come under their radar. The children of the famous deserve as much protection as the children of the poor and unknown.

Surely there's a difference between something being reported by a neighbour and someone responding to a tweet? If a neighbour saw AK's son repeatedly being beaten in the garden with a copy of Country Life or locked naked in the orangery on a winter's night as punishment for eating all the fois gras in the fridge I would say that was probably justified. However reporting a family for sending their child to boarding school as an 7 year old and reacting to a tweet about him doing OK and settling in well, is perhaps another matter? tbh I think sending a child away at that age unless there are very good mitigating circumstances is cruel but plenty of people don't. Clearly some (and I am among them) don't think allowing a nearly 16 year old to go on holiday with a friend is parenting which requires intervention by social services (fwiw my 17 old GS is inter railing as I write, he'd have been sensible enough to do it when nearly 16 but he hadn't saved enough money) whilst others seem to think it is only neglectful parents who would condone such a thing. I think a sense of proportion is required which has nothing to do with class or money or whether someone likes or dislikes someone. I think hard pressed social workers should be spending their time with more important matters.

Blinko

Which celeb was it who flew first class and popped their kids in economy? Just asking the question...

The Mom and Dad in Home Alone?

KA

Blinko

Which celeb was it who flew first class and popped their kids in economy? Just asking the question...

Paul McCartney.

He thought they should learn the value of money, I think.

Rosie51

^Involving social services was crazy and social services should have known better. It beggars believe really. I’m not a bit surprised that KA is outraged.^

Does that apply to all referrals to social services or just those involving high profile parents? If social services get a phone call about Mrs X at number 40 allowing her child to do something potentially dangerous should they just ignore it or do some sort of base line check? Whoever sparked the check, and whatever their motives, social services can't arbitrarily decide that famous people don't come under their radar. The children of the famous deserve as much protection as the children of the poor and unknown.

No it does not apply to all referrals to social services and yes the children of famous people deserve as much protection as the children of the poor and unknown.

I will not repeat on here what my social worker cousin said to me about Kensington and Chelsea Council but I’m certain that most people would say much the same thing.

Perhaps there are too many busybodies in Kensington &Chelsea?
Marina Fogle has revealed that she and her husband Ben were wrongly reported to social services over claims they had shouted at their children.
The couple returned from a holiday in August 2013 to learn that a neighbour had phoned their local council claiming they had unleashed “sustained verbal abuse” on their two young children, Ludo and Iona.
Mrs Fogle said that two social workers visited her home on Aug 19 2013 about the alleged incident, which she was told had taken place four days before.
She told the social workers that she had been on holiday at the time, however, and produced her boarding passes to prove it
She said her children then showed off Lego and other toys to the social workers, after which the social workers agreed it had been a false alarm
Or a malicious busybody?

I don’t suppose that we will ever know who the malicious busybody was.

That neighbour must have extraordinary hearing!

Perhaps there are not enough real problems happening in Kensington and Chelsea to keep the social workers busy?

Perhaps people think better safe than sorry.

There have been plenty of times when intervention would have saved a childs life.
Obviously not because they were being shouted at, or allowed to travel at a young age.

Years ago there was a child starved to death, and social services were in trouble for not thinking the mother seemed the type, because she was well spoken.

People who work in safeguarding are supposed to act without prejudice, which is what they’ve done 🤷‍♀️

I would not let any fifteen year old do this unless accompanied by a trusted adult. I’m unable see how anyone would think its ok. People and the law want to make up their minds is fifteen year old a child or a man, if a man whatever crime they commit they would be charged as an adult.

I still wonder if the anon referral came from a journalist

or Phil Spencer

😂

It was someone who knew KA’s phone number because one of her (outraged) questions was ‘how did you get my phone number?’ Unless it was already on file from previous referrals

That's not really funny. Kirstie must be very upset, without people laughing about it.

I don’t think she’ll read gransnet or care very much what I think Vintagejazz

I think she's hard as nails. She dishes it so should be able to take it.

nightowl

I don’t think she’ll read gransnet or care very much what I think Vintagejazz

Still not nice to be laughing and making a joke about it, in my view.

Aveline

I think she's hard as nails. She dishes it so should be able to take it.

'hard as nails' has got nothing to do with being forthright in her speech. That is one of the things I like about her and has made her such a popular presenter.

Personally, I would like to see more people prepared to stand up say what they think and take the flak than all these whining 'victims' of every little thing in their life that isn't just as they want it.

Why not Vintagejazz?

KA went to the press about it otherwise we’d be non the wiser

On Radio 4 (Saturday or Sunday) she said she could have stayed quiet but felt it was better to raise it for discussion. She said she felt children are generally not allowed to grow and challenge themselves.

It was the morning programme which invites people on to discuss newspaper headlines. Can't think but it was probably on last Sunday.

She made a valid point NotSpaghetti. It’s so difficult now to allow children age appropriate freedom. If we out the risks in the internet to one side , briefly. Traffic is the main threat. In my area, 50 years ago children rode bikes or walked to school. They rode ponies from age 9-10 through the village, no adult supervision. They played out and wandered. These days they’re carefully supervised for good reason.
They have friends from school to play but it’s at home or the park with parents there. All the usual childhood squabbles are inevitably mediated , interfering with them developing problem solving.