What age were you allowed out by yourself?

freshpopcorn

I grew up in the country so I needed a drive to school/town/etc. I first started meeting my friends in town when I was around 10/11.
The reason I ask this I saw an article about leaving you kid out alone and some people were saying they wouldn't leave there 14/16 year old out alone/walk to school when leaving nearby/etc because of how dangerous Ireland is now.
I see some people being hysterical online about men in white vans/etc.

What age were you out alone?

What age is acceptable now?(I'm talking about going to a local shop/school/etc)

Stephen15

Probably when I first moved to a housing estate when I was about 7 or 8 so mostly calling to friends houses or going to the shops which were located within the housing estate. Moved back to living on a main road when I was 10 and was allowed out by myself then for the first time out of the estate. About 12 when I was first allowed leave the neighbourhood and take the bus with friends.

igCorcaigh

Lol!

I can never remember being not allowed by myself. Born in 1973. Northside working class estate.

"Come in for your tea!"

Rubberchikken

same here. cant remember ever not being allowed out by myself or with siblings.
we'd disappear for hours. our mom used to appear on the hill behind our house and from a good distance we could see her so then we knew it was dinner/supper time.

I'd be starving but hate going in home especially a summer evening, you knew you were in for the night once meal was done. wash and telly and bed after that.
simple days:)

LETHAL LADY

Child of the 80s who grew up in a village so allowed roam around from about the age of 7 unsupervised. I don't think my parents really knew how far I did roam though. Still made it home in one piece.
Live in a town now and my own are allowed to play around the estate with their friends and to go to the local shop.They call back in home regularly for refreshments and dinner of course.
The older lad is allowed head off for the day with his mates.
Nobody has died yet, but I'm rethinking my strategy due to the white can man :eek:

freshpopcorn

LETHAL LADY wrote: »

I'm rethinking my strategy due to the white can man :eek:

He's as lethal as the lethal lady!

LETHAL LADY

freshpopcorn wrote: »

He's as lethal as the lethal lady!

Probably high on Tesco value lager

Airyfairy12

I was allowed out on my own at about 12, I started going to teenage discos.

Parents are far too protective of their kids these days, I see it in my younger cousins, theyre late teens and early 20's but theyre infantilized, very innocent and I dont know how theyre going to cope when they have to leave home.

Turtyturd

Can never remember a time when I wasn’t allowed out by myself. Would only be called when it was dinner time or my parents wanted something done that they couldn’t be arsed doing.

Northside s/c was across the road from us so the big fear wasn’t men in white vans kidnapping someone but someone getting knocked down crossing the road so it was drummed into us to use the tunnel which was probably more dangerous than the road.

Also can never remember being brought to school (although I’m sure I was) but can clearly remember walking there and home every day with friends. My sister has a son who is just about to turn 9 and would do the same journey we used to do but she still drops him in and collects him, we were definitely walking by ourselves at that age.

On bus to school aged 6- on my own. Funnily enough, , a CIE bus conductor called “Kevin” didn’t attempt to molest me until aged 12 to 13- go figure. Mustn’t have been much of a pedophile. Anyway, thankfully, he wasn’t successful.

But yeah, cycled everywhere from aged 7- up the mountains on my own aged 12 or so- - 5 mile cycle to school aged 12 through city traffic-looking back now, as an adult- frightening. But back then, quite normal

igCorcaigh

My neurotic neighbour mum, bless her, was scared of the boot boys.

Late 70s.

Anyone know what that means?

EL_Loco

freshpopcorn wrote: »

because of how dangerous Ireland is now.
I see some people being hysterical online about men in white vans/etc.

I thought statistically the world was safer? less violent crime etc?

These attempted child abductions, how bad are the adult abductors that they can't pick up a child and throw them in the back of a van? Personally I always take these stories with a pinch of salt.

on the flip side, with parents being so protective and keeping kids in does this statistically speaking make any child let roam face a bigger threat. Logic being, if your child is the only one out and about they will be the ones to face the dangers out there.

to answer your question, I could nearly always call into a neighbour unattended. 7/8 years of age, if part of that was to go down the shop we'd do that without hesitation. Caveat being the shop was on the same side of the road, no crossing necessary.

Lastly, I'm not a parent, so would I be cavalier with my child's safety? Most likely not. I'd like to think I'd be laid back and cool about it all, but realistically I don't think I would and would have a certain amount of over protectiveness going on.

EL_Loco

EL_Loco wrote: »

to answer your question, I could nearly always call into a neighbour unattended. 7/8 years of age, if part of that was to go down the shop we'd do that without hesitation. Caveat being the shop was on the same side of the road, no crossing necessary.
.

Snowflake :P

igCorcaigh

Bad **** always went on. Always will I guess.

It's good that we are more aware now, but I think the downside of that is the spread of fear.

Ignorence is bliss they say, but we have to strike the right balance too.

Different times!

Blaizes

Nine or ten used to get sent off shopping for grandparents around the town, loved it. Different times though.

Hobosan

EL_Loco wrote: »

I thought statistically the world was safer? less violent crime etc?

These attempted child abductions, how bad are the adult abductors that they can't pick up a child and throw them in the back of a van? Personally I always take these stories with a pinch of salt.

on the flip side, with parents being so protective and keeping kids in does this statistically speaking make any child let roam face a bigger threat. Logic being, if your child is the only one out and about they will be the ones to face the dangers out there.

to answer your question, I could nearly always call into a neighbour unattended. 7/8 years of age, if part of that was to go down the shop we'd do that without hesitation. Caveat being the shop was on the same side of the road, no crossing necessary.

Lastly, I'm not a parent, so would I be cavalier with my child's safety? Most likely not. I'd like to think I'd be laid back and cool about it all, but realistically I don't think I would and would have a certain amount of over protectiveness going on.

No, the ones kept at home are in more danger because relatives are the most likely to abuse kids, parents themselves being the prime candidate for abuse.

South Park did a great parody of this where the media made parents progressively more paranoid of strangers, then of community members, and then finally of the parents themselves, so they sent all the kids off into the wilderness.

Unfortunately I know of a case where a Grandfather who was well liked by all was raping the Grandchildren.

Now, if you were those parents and you mentioned that you asked a random person on the steet to mind the kids, you'd probably have your kids taken away, but say their Grandfather is watching and nobody would bat an eyelid.

igCorcaigh

igCorcaigh wrote: »

My neurotic neighbour mum, bless her, was scared of the boot boys.

Late 70s.

Anyone know what that means?

Yes, it’s an old expression - name given by parents to people they though caused trouble or looked like trouble- “hooligans” and the like would be another word.
I heard it myself from a neighbor in the same context back in the day.

“Teddy boys” would have been a similar expression from parents who grew up in the 40s and 50s

Sam Quentin

I was put out the very first time I peed on the floor

Andrewf20

12 years old. Dublin North City.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Allowed? 12/13 (I had protective parents)

Actually went out? 9 or 10.

Hobosan

Sam Quentin wrote: »

I was put out the very first time I peed on the floor

Nothing to be ashamed of. That's how you know you're a man. Always an emotional time for the parents. The Father consoling the Mother that it's time he's left out into the world alone. There's no going back once you've peed on the floor. It's like watching Barney as an adult. You enjoy it, and you wish you could watch it all day, but deep down, you know it is time to move on... Time to be a man.

EL_Loco

Hobosan wrote: »

No, the ones kept at home are in more danger because relatives are the most likely to abuse kids, parents themselves being the prime candidate for abuse.

Not something I'd factored into the premise, more it being at home you're safe, out "there" is the danger, and at what age you were allowed face the danger by yourself.

Small counter point, I don't think an abusive relation was ever deterred by "oh they're not here at the moment we let them out to play".

Hobosan

EL_Loco wrote: »

Not something I'd factored into the premise, more it being at home you're safe, out "there" is the danger, and at what age you were allowed face the danger by yourself.

Small counter point, I don't think an abusive relation was ever deterred by "oh they're not here at the moment we let them out to play".

That's true, but ideally the response would be, "Fionn is out trying to castrate the Grizzly Bears we reintroduced to the forest".

Alot of work still needs to be done.

Outlaw Pete

Slightly off topic, but reminded me of......

When I was 11 myself and around 25 other 11 year olds all decided to sneak out one summer's night at 2.30am and go up to a field near by where we had built forts with bails of hay. We all brought snacks and drinks and had a bit of a party in the fort.... until the Gardai showed up. I can just remember them looking at us in utter bemusement.

They were sound though and escorted the gang of us home by driving slowly behind us as we walked, each one of us sneaking back into our homes along the way. They never told out parents and none of them had noticed we were gone.

As for when I was allowed out by myself during the day, well I was walking to school alone at 8 but then I lived only a 100 yards from the school gates. At the same age I was allowed play football on the green around the corner. My Dad was more strict than my mother though overall.

Deebles McBeebles

Around 7/8 I have memories of wandering around fields doing as I pleased. Which wasn't anything too exciting at the time, just exploring the countryside. Animals all over the place, cows, rabbits and hares in particular. Great memories now, thinking back.

spodoinkle

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I grew up in the country so I needed a drive to school/town/etc. I first started meeting my friends in town when I was around 10/11.
The reason I ask this I saw an article about leaving you kid out alone and some people were saying they wouldn't leave there 14/16 year old out alone/walk to school when leaving nearby/etc because of how dangerous Ireland is now.
I see some people being hysterical online about men in white vans/etc.

What age were you out alone?

What age is acceptable now?(I'm talking about going to a local shop/school/etc)

went to the Hollyrood Hotel in Bundoran at 14 in 1994 - AFAIR there were very few over 18 there

OK just read full OP - I would have walked to school, went to shop etc from 6 or 7, small town in Fermanagh circa 1986

antodeco

I vaguely remember being out all day at the age of 9/10. Would walk down to my friends house, about 10 minutes away, and would be gone from 10am until dinner. In for dinner and then back out. Had to come home when the street lights started to come on (10:30/11 at a push in the summer). This was in South Dublin.

My daughter is 15, and she has been getting the school bus herself the last year. She has been heading up to Liffey Valley/Town/Dundrum probably for the last 2 years (so add another year for how long she did it without telling me!). I was raised in the 80s and my 2 kids are going to be raised the same way.

Current generation are missing alot of street smarts. They havent been allowed, "mature" in the way I did I suppose. As has been said, there's always been weirdos/paedos/murders, but the different being is that now we are in such an instantaneous, always connected world, we hear about them more.

Bob Harris

sugarman wrote: »

Probably 7-8 to the local shops and friends a few streets over.

Then probably 12-13 to town and that.

It's mad how much children are mollycoddled these days, I've cousins in their late teens now whove never walked home from school or taken public transportation anywhere!

It has completely changed. I lived a bit less than a mile from the village on a country road - probably started walking/cycling there and back from the age of 8/9. I use to thumb 5/6 miles every now and then when still in primary school.
I have neices in their mid-teens who would be rarely left at home for more than a few hours and who would certianly never walk/cycle/thumb on a public road.

DaeryssaOne

Would have been out wandering the countryside with siblings and cousins from a very young age, don't remember when I wasn't allowed to really.

My parents were stricter when it came to 'hanging around' though when I was that bit older. While I was still allowed meet friends at the local shopping centre or into the city centre itself I did need to be driven there and wasn't to just be hanging out causing any trouble.

Still allowed do it from age 12 or 13 though, sure I was working part-time by 14 it would have been weird if I wasn't allowed out on my own then! :pac:

Grew up in the county side so I was off roaming from a very young age, calling to friends/relations near by etc. don’t know an exact age but 7 or 8 I’m sure as I can’t really remember a time when I wasn’t allowed out.

I used to cycle or walk to school which involved going on the main country road with no paths or even hardshoulder etc at 10 or probably younger again don’t remember not being allows to do this either.

Growing up in the county was brilliant and so much easier for parents too as there was no way to “loiter” around corners etc as town or shops were too far.

freshpopcorn

sugarman wrote: »

It's mad how much children are mollycoddled these days, I've cousins in their late teens now whove never walked home from school or taken public transportation anywhere!

I always think it's sad when you see teenagers terrified of things now or going places because mammy read a post on Facebook!

Sleepy

I can remember walking home from school and calling to friends who lived in an estate the other side of a busy enough road from the age of 6 or so. Would have been cycling the 3 or 4 miles to school (and heading into town on my own after school) from around 11/12, heading to the beech for the day with mates would have been normal enough at 13 and the parents rules for going unaccompanied to pubs / clubs was a straightforward "once you've finished your Junior Cert and it's outside of term time" so around 16 or so.

I'm a little more careful where my own kids are concerned (primarily as we live on a peninsula with riptides) but the 10 year old would be calling around to her friends in nearby estates and the 13 year old would be allowed get the bus on his own to arranged meetups (i.e. the cinema or Game Stop or whatever) with his mates in our nearest large town (Swords) but wouldn't be let just head in to "hang around".

harr

As others have said I can’t really remember when I wasn’t allowed out. Lived in rural village setting so I was off down the fields or bog for hours on end. No watch or knowing what time it was but always arrived home for lunch and dinner.
Definitely went On bike out to my cousins which was 5 miles away from a young age.
I have nieces and nephews now who have no street smarts and are driven every where and wouldn’t even think of getting on a bike or god forbid walking.
16 year nephew only took train on his own for first time last week both he and his mother a bag of nerves.
I remember heading to Dublin on bus at 13 or 14 to do Xmas shopping on my own and lived to tell the tale. No mobiles back then to keep check on me and no mysterious white vans around.

fattymuatty

Always, I grew up on a small island with a population of about 60 at the time. There was no ferry service or anything so strangers weren't a thing there. We got into a few hairy situations with the tide at the shore and there was once my brother fell down a really deep drain full of brambles and couldn't get out but mostly we were grand.

My eldest is just gone 12 and he has been walking up town to meet friends for the past year or so. He and his younger sister walk to school by themselves. Quite a few kids walk/cycle by themselves so not everyone these days is a helicopter parent. We live in a smallish town in the West.

andekwarhola

Brought up in a working class part of the city, was allowed around the estate from early enough age. By the age of 9 or 10, I was allowed to wander off with friends to the nearby park, shops or their houses, I guess up to 1-2 km radius. My parents were strict about me coming home on time though and bought me a watch.

I live in a city suburb now and my eldest son is nearly 11 and I have to admit I went through the is usual modern paranoia about allowing him in the same freedom as I had but I've copped on now and forced myself to let him do the same as I've realized it's far worse to keep children from being streetwise and independent than worrying about some fictional increase in crime.

Told my wife once I was allowed to go camping overnight with friends when I was about 12 to a spot about 10 kilometres away on bus and she didn't believe me.

paleoperson

I'll say 9 or 10 as well. But there's a big difference between being allowed out in the countryside/with the neighbours as being able to go anywhere you want.

Feisar

I can't remember when, grew up in a estate outside Mullingar, there were loads of us kids out and about from an early age.

Was allowed walk into town on my own at 10, I remember walking in to buy a knock off Ireland jersey in Better Buys. It was £11 at the time. Felt very grown up!