Letting 15 year old Son travel to Europe by rail

Whereas I agree that some 15 yr olds are streetwise enough to travel without coming to harm, there are a great many who are not, that is not only children either. Time and again you hear of attacks, injury of some kind or death because the individual is taking a risk that most would not.

Our DC are far more risk averse than we or our parents were.
I used to boast that we began sending our DC by train, from Edinburgh to Suffolk to spend 2 weeks with their DGP. The boys were 10 and 8 the first year.
They had to change trains twice. They each carried a letter to the station master in case of a difficulty.
Once they had to ask for help and were cared for at Ely station when a train was late.

The boys enjoyed the adventure. By the time they were teenagers, they were perfectly capable of looking after themselves.

I can't imagine their DGC being allowed such freedom and we would be frowned on.

We were so much more trusting then.

Chestnut

So many adventurous tales from people who travelled abroad in their early teens, I'm most impressed. But my father can beat you all. He was only five years old and had to walk alone through the woods to school and back every day. They lived on one side of the woods and the village was about three miles away on the other side. This was the 1920s.

As for me, I was riding around in London buses on my own aged 8 years.

The point I'm making is that you can't compare what you did 50 or 60 years ago with today. Or in my dad's case 100 years ago. As we know 'the past is a different place and they do things differently there'.

Children are not generally raised to be as independent as they were in the previous century, even if you don't realise it. And the people of today are very different too. Some of them will stab you just for looking at them (that was in the news the other day). So much has changed. We need to ensure our children are truly able to cope when they're alone and so far from home. Waiting until they've done their A-Levels seems wise to me, to give them just that little bit more breathing space.

I completely agree Chestnut, it’s a different age now.
No, I wouldn’t have allowed my son or daughter to do this, not because I don’t trust them but because I would have spent the time worried sick.
At 7 I would cycle with my younger sisters and friend around the lanes to a village some five miles away, have a picnic and cycle back. We would often spend all day outside, returning home for meals, my mother had little idea of what where we were or what we were doing.
From the age of 5 I walked a mile across fields to school, alone and after a couple of years I was responsible for my two younger siblings doing the same.
At 11 I would walk a mile to catch the bus to school 15 miles away and walk back in the evening along unlit roads.
I’m 70 now and life was very different then.

I very much doubt that she's an irresponsible Mother (whatever your feelings are about her).

At 15, I could have trusted my daughter to do most things. My son on the other hand, I barely trusted to walk the 10 minutes to school.

Depends on the child.

His friend's mobile was tracked by his mother.
Just saying.

So many adventurous tales from people who travelled abroad in their early teens, I'm most impressed. But my father can beat you all. He was only five years old and had to walk alone through the woods to school and back every day. They lived on one side of the woods and the village was about three miles away on the other side. This was the 1920s.

As for me, I was riding around in London buses on my own aged 8 years.

The point I'm making is that you can't compare what you did 50 or 60 years ago with today. Or in my dad's case 100 years ago. As we know 'the past is a different place and they do things differently there'.

Children are not generally raised to be as independent as they were in the previous century, even if you don't realise it. And the people of today are very different too. Some of them will stab you just for looking at them (that was in the news the other day). So much has changed. We need to ensure our children are truly able to cope when they're alone and so far from home. Waiting until they've done their A-Levels seems wise to me, to give them just that little bit more breathing space.

I travelled to Bristol alone at 12 years old, Scotland at 14. Minimal I know, but I remember feeling quite excited about it.
It does depend on the child's nature. Some are mature, some are not.
Personally I might not have been too happy if my sons had done all the travelling that KA's son did at 15. But she knows her own child best.

Wasting social services time which we taxpayers pay for.

DH, aged just 16 in 1951, went cycling in Holland and Belgium, having cycled from Yorkshire to Dover to get on the ferry. DS did a similar trip to France with a school friend at the same age. My DGS at 17, although he lives in London , seems unable to organise anything for himself. Autre temps …..

I’m surprised so many on here think this is acceptable.
A fifteen year old, travelling around Europe for three weeks with a sixteen year old friend? Really? What could possibly go wrong.

I’m certain Kirsty would have said how ‘sensible’ and ‘mature’ he is for his age, but anything could have happened, and young lads that age don’t have the necessary life experience and maturity to deal with any difficult or dangerous situation.

Just my opinion of course and others clearly disagree.

A 15 year old is still a minor therefore should travel with a responsible adult. Is illegal for a child to stay unaccompanied by a responsible adult in a holiday rental or hotel. His 16 year old friend would be a few years short of being considered a responsible adult which is 18 in most countries. Then again I suppose KA has a network of well off friends/family living in Europe who would meet him at the station and whisk him away to their villa etc.
This is not a run of the mill mum she can afford to throw money at this and make sure her child was not thrown to the wolves.
But 15 is very young, as is 16, and there are a multitude of dangers out there. KA must have nerves of steel. I certainly couldn’t have done this when my kids reached 15.

I think she likes the attention
Barons daughter

In the late 50s, I was put on a ship sailing from Hull to Hamburg, "care of the Captain ". I was 11. The voyage took two nights with a day in between. They were small freighters which took a few passengers. My abiding memerory is being told that it was time that I was in bed by one of the other passengers, I was obviously annoying them! My German grandmother met me in Hamburg. If Kirstie Allsops son is at a London day school, he will be quite used to dealing with transport. I think she was quite right to let him go, children are expected to be much more independent in Europe.

In the UK you can join the army at 16.

In Scotland you can also still get married at 16. Would anyone expect the couple to stay under parental care? Just wondering…especially if they have become parents themselves.

Sorry, that should have said that the post was in reply to BlueBelle

I live in Scotland. The voting age is 16; you can register to vote from the age of 14.
This lad was only a week or two away from his 16th birthday, and now is 16; the friend he went with, was already 16.

I’m with Kirsty on this. 30 years ago I let my 15 year old daughter travel to France by coach and rail with a 16 year old friend to visit her French exchange student. No mobile phones then of course. She got there and back without incident and had a wonderful time. She was a sensible girl and I had no qualms about agreeing to let her go. We each know our own child!

Legal age to get married is now 18 (apparently this received Royal Assent in 2022). In England, school leaving age is 18, unless at college or doing apprenticeship.
So this lad is a schoolchild.
There's no point in saying what we did in 1960s or our children in 1990s, it's a different world, a more dangerous world, especially for teenagers.

Well, i think I'll let my boy start driving then.
He'll be seventeen soon, and I know him well...

I hadn't long turned 15 when I travelled by rail by myself 300 miles to stay with a friend, crossing London in the process. This was the 1970s, so I don't think would have been unusual then. My parents would have given me advice. KA will know her son and presumably only allowed this because she knew that he and his friend were mature enough to cope. They would also have mobile phones, so she would be contactable if needed, and they could give updates on their whereabouts

I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if my 15 year old son was holidaying in a foreign country with a 16 year old friend. He may have been mature for his age but not worldly wise…

I wouldn’t have reported his parents though…..

I think I read that she’d talked about it on X / Twitter - and someone reported it to Social Services then.

I also wonder if KA’s extensive network of friends and colleagues were looking out for them. Did they stay in hotels or maybe in private homes some of the time?

I assume they had access to plenty of cash and the best means of communication available.

I was married at 16. No mobiles, nor phones in many homes. I knew perfectly well how to care for myself - my parents raised me to be self sufficient.

I'd imagine he has been all round the UK and been to many countries with his parents - somewhat the norm by now, lesson in self sufficiency. Surely his parents gave him a mobile, numbers to call if needed.

My husband went travelling through Europe the year he was 15. He was with 2 friends.
They took a tent and were arrested twice - once for pitching the tent on a beach and once for loitering as they waited for a café to open for breakfast!

I didn't "do Europe" but did take trains and a ferry from the north to the isle of Wight to visit my aunt from age 10. Initially I had help crossing London from an old friend of my dad's - but I navigated the ferry.

We both had a great time.
And the sense of achievement is immense.

We know our own children. At 15 some children are like 18 year olds but plenty of 18 year olds are like children these days. You will see this if ever you work with young people.

I think if they are "up for it" and capable we know...
And phones are a safety net too.
That said, social services still need to investigate complaints - even if malicious.