At What Age Would You Let Your Kids Go To____ Without You?

1. 10
2. 10
3. 10
4. Haven't had this one yet, as I have boys. But if they asked, probably 12-13.

1. When my boys were about 7 and 10 I started letting them go and watch a movie in one theatre while I watched a different movie in another theater (in a multi-plex theatre). I would probably let my 11 year old do a drop off at the theatre. We don't have any theatre's he could easily get to on his own by bus.
2. I would probably drop them off at the midway at the age of 12. We don't have any big amusement parks here, just amusement parks geared to younger kids or travelling midways.
3. The age for pools with lifeguards here is 8, so they have been going to the city pool and the pool at the Y since they were 8. We do waterparks as a family.
4. I have let my 11 year old go to the mall with my friends 14 year old son. On his own with friends his age on a bus probably when he is 12.

Movie theater and mall? Probably around age 12/13

Amusement/water parks? When they're 18 because we don't have any locally. For us, going to these places would require a minimum 3 hour drive - not something my kids are going to do without me.

13 for everything except Six Flags (for the amusement park I would want
an adult present).

I went to all those places with friends by the time I was 12.

I think 12/13 also. Plus if your daughter is mature that helps. Mine keeps her cell phone with her and has to answer or text back when I call :) Keeps me "close" or at least I feel like I am.

By the time she was your age, I was dropping her off at the movies and the mall with her friends - never alone. We had a specific pickup time and everyone had better be there on time or have a damn good reason why they weren't.

The nearest amusment park on the scale of Six Flags is 400 miles away from us, so she only went ther without me if she went on vacation with another family.

The nearest water park is 25 miles from my house, so dropping her off and coming back would have been too much gas.
I did, however, let her and her friends explore the park in groups of at least two, while I amused myself there.

around 12, depending on the child.

1. 12, with the kids getting picked up right at the end of the movie. No loitering.
2. Never. OK maybe not never, but not until they can drive there, so 17?
3. I honestly don't know. We have a pool in our back yard and at 15, I just started letting the two oldest swim with friends while I'm in the kitchen but I can see and hear the pool from inside my house and they aren't allowed in when we're not home.
4. Never. Not really an age thing, but more of a "what's the point?" thing. I'm not OK with recreational shopping or wasting hours just walking around looking for boys/girls. If the kids need to shop, I'll go with them and we'll split up and meet back after an hour. But I would never drop them off and then come back hours later to pick them up. The last time my daughter (now 15) wanted to "go to the mall" to basically do nothing was in 8th grade and another mom went along with them and stayed. It's just not a thing to do around here.

My daughter is 26.
My boys are 11 and 13.

My boys are in California without me or their dad. For 3 weeks.
My daughter flew from Belgium to PA without me or her father. She was in the U.S. for 6 weeks visiting family - without her parents - she was 8 years old.

Since my daughter is an adult...no sense - she's an adult.

Movie theaters - they go now - I have to know the movie and who they are with. I typically take and drop off.

Amusement parks - they have gone with friends - and they were as young as 7 - walked around the park in groups.

Waterpark - I go - because I want to have fun too

Mall - I have boys - they don't care about the mall - yet. With my daughter - we were living overseas - so that didn't happen. She was 15 when she was walking around with her friends.

My concern would be transportation. I would not want her driving with parents when I don't know what kind of drivers they are, certainly not on the freeways. And at age 11 or 12 some kids don't yet fit the adult seatbelt and need a booster. So, sorry kid, mama does the driving. Your safety is priority.

Movies I'd let her go if I dropped off (or a trusted driver).
Amusement park, no...probably 15.
Waterpark age 10 (but ours is so kid-friendly). No way for a wave pool.
Mall maybe 14

My kids are all younger so no clue from a "parent" perspective. I was an urban kid with very loose parents. By 12, I was babysitting, going into NYC alone on the train, going over friends houses alone, biking places alone, and going to all of the above alone.

Mall/movies 12/13, water/amus park 14/15, pool 8/9 (that's our neighborhood/club pool, NOT a public pool, all the swim team parents leave their kids there starting at 8, that's the norm here.)

I'm with jo...around 12...or 13.

With respect to amusement parks though, many of THEM have an age under which a minor must have an adult accompany them. I believe I read one park had said 16...I could be wrong.

1. When she starts dating, preferably in college...lol. My answer is not until she's at least 14 or 15 but I really would say older if she asked me.

2. Never, I grew up in OKC and was a teen when those 2 teen girls went missing from the fairgrounds. That made me realize that even older kids can make bad decisions to trust someone. I do believe they got picked up by some really cute guy and he kidnapped them for his lurid purposes and then killed them. So I would never let them go on their own without supervision. I recently went to Silver Dollar City with the kids and a friend who has kids a few years older. I did let the older 3 kids go ride a few rides on their own but we sat at the entryway to that area and could see them 100% if they came down the ramp to leave that ride. There was no way they could go anywhere else. So we'd know if the didn't come back from the ride.

I went to 6 flags with church groups a few times and we always had direct supervision. We stayed in a group and rode everything. Even if the adult didn't ride they stayed right there where we got on and off.

3. It depends on the size. If it was White Water in OKC then maybe a younger teen. If I had taken them a lot and they were good swimmers and there were no places they could get off to that was out of the lifeguards view or where they could get hurt by someone.

4. Not going to happen unless I am there too. Too many perverts go to malls to scope out kids without parents and there are way too many places a person can hide and grab a kid. So it's not a place I'd ever want to go by myself much less let the kids go by themselves.

My ages here are for *being* at a place with friends. As far as "going" there, I'd want a parent to drop-off/pick-up til the kids are a bit older, unless something is really close enough to my home (not just a friend's home) that I can feel safe about my child walking there and being able to walk home.

1) 11
2) 16 or 17, if no known adult is there...just too risky (maybe 12 or 13 for something like a "county fair" with little rides)
3) same as above (younger for a little community pool near home)
4) 13 or 14, BUT with limited funds til she's older (Find out what "going to the mall" means to her. Sitting around the food court with friends? I wouldn't want mine spending a large amount of money without me there.)

Okay...here it goes...and I classify myself as a pretty balanced parent. I'm not "Helicopter Helen" but I'm also not "Lucy Goosey" either. I have four daughters. Twin 19 year olds, 17, and then 16.

1. Movies....12
2. Amusement Park without any parents....13
3. Waterpark with Lifeguards....12 but my kids are FISH!
4. Mall....11

I was just asking someone their opinion on this yesterday! Times have certainly changed since I was a kid (or maybe it's just that the town I grew up in was so small).
1) My parents allowed me to go to the movies alone with a friend when I was in third grade, but my son is going into 4th and I can't even imagine dropping him off at a theater. I'm going to say maybe when he's 12.
2) When we went with church youth groups, we were allowed to wander around 6 Flags in groups of 3-4 when we were in sixth grade, and I would probably be okay with my kids doing it around the same age.
3) Not sure about this one ...again, my mom dropped me off at the public pool with friends when I was as young as third grade, but I can't imagine letting my kids swim without me, especially at a water park.
4) I have 3 boys so this might never be an issue, but I guess I'd be okay with it in junior high (though I would stay somewhere in the mall too). I can see kids wanting to hang out there for the arcade, food court, etc. and I understand the appeal.

huh, my oldest is 10 so i'm not there yet. maybe because it's where we live but I think I would be ok with movies and mall at a younger age than the other so, maybe 13 for that, and more like 16 for the others.

My daughter is now 18, so I've been through all of this:

Movie: 12
Six Flags: 16
Local park district pool: 10
Commercial water park: 16? (the situation has never come up)
Mall: maybe 13 or 14? (can't remember)

My son is a few years younger and these ages will likely be different for him. Some situations I trust him more, some less.

1. 15 (as in, alone and dropped off with adult leaving premises)
2. Sorry, I'm 18 on this one
3. Same as above is adult isn't on premises
4. 15