Parents of teens.

[campincory]

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.

[Vapor_Trails]

campincory wrote:
I'm wondering at what age would you leave your kids alone at the campground while you went to the store.

Depends on the kid, of course but I'd say 11 or 12. That's what age we start having them babysit. I see no reason not to let them babysit themselves. But, again, it depends on the kid.

However, you are asking anonymous strangers on an internet board so either A. like a previous poster said, you have have concerns about your own children or B. you are a little overprotective and need to let your kids spread their wings a bit. Or maybe both...

[Opie431]

That old enough to baby sit comment is a good one.

[loulou57]

Only you can answer this question, you know your kids. If you are having to ask the question, obviously, you are not ready to leave them alone.

Make sure you the parents and the children are comfortable with your decision.

[lilredmom]

Regardless of whether or not my child is responsible or mature enough to be left alone at the campground or at home, the campground where we have a seasonal site has a rule that they must be 18 years old or older to be left alone. That does not mean they can't be off and playing or riding, but we have to be on site. We don't want to get kicked out, so we follow the rule. I would imagine it's a liability issue for them. Most campgrounds we have been at have also had this same rule. It's probably in the fine print.

[PRodacy]

You're probably worrying about nothing. If the campground you're in is not safe enough to leave them, I'd pack everything up and get out of there in a hurry - its not safe for you either. At least in the areas we frequent(Colorado and New Mexico), campground safety has never been a concern, but I don't know how MO is. We've found that people who go to campgrounds are generally very friendly and would be glad to help your girls if they needed anything. Have you met the people camping nearby? Do they seem trustworthy? If so, would they keep an eye on the girls? No doubt the girls are able to take care of themselves. My friend and I started backpacking (just the 2 of us)in Colorado when we were 14. Nothing more than 3 nights, but we had a ball! Let the girls develop their independence as much as possible!

[KFS]

Mine are 14 and 16 and very responsible and level headed. I would leave them alone together or 16 yo D'S alone. I would not leave 14 yo DD alone.

[josten367]

I am still wayne_tw wrote:
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?

It is ok at home because there is more to protect against someone beating down the door and you KNOW your neighbors or should. When you are camping you don't know the neighbors very well, even if you said hello and your trailer is safe but it's still a tin can that can be ripped apart. Plus you are in the middle of the woods and far from help if needed.

You should always have some kind of protection any where you go. At home at least you can run out the back door. Most campers don't have back doors, mine does.

Know your surrounding and us "YOUR" best judgement because you know your kids. I am giving my opinion on this.

[relaxin]

girls I would never leave alone untill they are safely married, the wolves will get them,,,,,,,,,,, boys well, they are the wolves, lucky me I had a boy.
I was one once upon a time (teenage boy that is) and do recall getting lucky a couple times not just first base but a home run, 3 that I recall.

I bought my son a box of condoms at 15 and said "if you are gonna do it, I can't stop you (as in I can't watch him 110% of the time), but at least be safe"

[noe-place]

My grandson will be 13 this November. He stays with us during the school day because his Mom and dad are divorced and his Mom commutes a great distance daily to and from work. Only this summer have I even dared to leave him alone in our house while I'm gone no more than a few minutes. Usually his Grandmother is here but once in a great while we're both out but he's such a BIG guy he fools a lot of people into thinking he's a lot older.

[Chock_Full_o__N]

Wow! I'm surprised at some of the answers. We pretty much turned our kids loose in the campground by the time they were 13. They were equipped with their bikes and a walkie-talkie and they were required to touch base with me every hour and anytime they moved to another location within the campground. My kids never had an issue.

I would leave my kids at the camper with a cell phone. It's up to you whether you want to allow them to go to the pool or the lake while you're gone. I think I would rather be close by if they're going to be in water.

[skrams]

Of course.

[DiskDoctr]

At 12, she can stay alone, but inside. If she has a reasonably responsible friend with her, they have a great deal more freedom.

If we had met the neighbors with kids and the kids played together, I would be even more comfortable, though she would have to stay inside while we were gone.

[pookiebear38]

My 17-year old daughter usually goes with me, but it's her choice. She doesn't like to hang out alone and she doesn't have many friends that want to go camping with us. To be honest, when we're camping, we go to hang with the family and get away from daily life, so we don't expect to leave her alone.
Otherwise, we have left her alone when she was sleeping/napping, but I usually don't leave the park and the dogs keep her company. And do I worry about her? She shoots much better than I ever will, so not really!

[rfryer]

A pretty broad question, it would depend on the maturity of the kids more so than age and where I was camped. I would easily leave my boys alone for an hour or longer in their mid teens. I’d be more wary of leaving girls alone at that age. My boys hunted with me at that age and were relatively independent. The girls were pretty level headed in the mid teens and I might leave them, but not for the same length of time as the boys. I generally tried to give the kids some slack to prove their responsibility, but not so much that anything serious could happen. The DW is more protective than me, but she recognizes it and tries to temper it.

Against the DW’s wishes, my granddaughter and a friend at 14 wanted to wander off in the forest. Boy, those genes are strong.:D I let them go but I followed at a distance. Not a lack of faith in her, but I wanted to be close enough to put an end to anything untoward that might happen. So much for stealth, she spotted me in short order. But she has an uncanny ability to spot game in heavy cover, far better than me or any other hunter I know. So we turned into a threesome wandering around the woods. Had I not followed I likely wouldn’t have let her go, though. She just didn’t have the training and experience the boys had in the boonies.