Parents of teens.

campincory wrote:
I'm wondering at what age would you leave your kids alone at the campground while you went to the store. Lets say you'd be gone about an hour or so. We have not yet left our very well behaved and respectful girls alone in the camper for any amount of time and I'm wonder if we are being over protective. My oldest will be 15 in Oct and my middle daughter is 13. They stay home alone at home all the time, we just haven't left them alone in the camper yet.

Gee, around here the oldest could be driving in a year or so.
Surely, they can be left at the campsite for an hour or so.

at what age did you start baby sitting ? it seems to me if you can trust them to baby sit ...they are old enough to be alone anywhere!!!!

My boy stayed alone for the first time at 17, only because he was done tagging along. He had also just completed army basic training. I wouldn't want to have messed with him!

I would guess they are old enough. Our kids get to wonder the campgrounds as long as they respect others sites, property and privacy. Our oldest just turned 16 this past winter. The other 2 are 14 and 13. If we leave them alone at the campground, they have strict orders to stay in the trailer and keep it locked. We have cell phones if they need to contact us. We've only had to do this a few times in the past few years. But I figure if the can bike around the camp or go to the pool/lake, they are responsible enough to handle an hour or so in the camper. They need to learn some responsibility and actually be able to prove they understand that responsibility.

If you trust them, they are old enough in my opinion.

if like my kids ? I,D trust them with no problem. its the others I don,t trust.

josten367 wrote:
Camp grounds are safe but not safe enough. Make sure they have something to protect themselves and know what to do when someone comes to the door.

Are you inferring that leaving the kids at home is OK (since the OP already stated he/she did) but at the campground is not?

What makes a neighborhood safer than a campground?

Why should they have "protection" in the camper but not at home?

Based on experience, I'd say 22 is STILL a "lil bit" scary today, ie., "what on earth are they thinking?". By the time they hit their mid 20s and early 30s, there's hope. They've settled into life and realize, "if it's to be, it's up to me." But, after they hit first grade, it's nip and tuck for a long time.:B

I would wait a couple of years still. Camp grounds are safe but not safe enough. Make sure they have something to protect themselves and know what to do when someone comes to the door. Also have a phone on them and know local emergency numbers.
I would rather over protect my children than regret the rest of my life and not have them.