Am I off base regarding reasonable ages for independent travel on metro/in D.C.?

[Anonymous]

I have kids over a very wide age range. When DD23 and DD21 were teenagers we lived in the Midwest, so my 13yo is my first experience raising teens in a Metro area with good public transportation and easy access to a city with a variety of things to do. We live in Maryland not that far from a MARC train station that is on the line to Union station in D.C. 13 year old/7th grader wants to go with a few friends into D.C. on occasion, and the various parents involved are conflicted on whether it's a good idea to let them go alone. I would be fine with it as long as there's a group of a few kids, at least one of them has a phone (my kid would for sure, not sure about others), and I have at least a rough idea of her plans. Some of the other parents seem to think that's crazy or neglectful, so I was just wondering what other area parents thought. What age would you find reasonable for this?

[Anonymous]

Would they be going doing the day or in the evening?

[Anonymous]

I would let them go as a group, I would probably want to know the other kids though, or at least the majority of them.

[Anonymous]

I let my oldest at 13 but my now 14 year old hasn't yet. I think I'd let him but it hasn't been something he wants to do.

[Anonymous]

There have been a lot of threads lately about public transportation and kids. I started one of them. There seems to be a huge age range of when DCUMers allowed this and I suspect therefore that it's based on when the kid is ready rather than a single appropriate age. For intercity or interstate travel, I think a higher standard of readiness is okay and I'd want my child to already have a lot of experience with local travel by public transit and be very familiar with the destination due to exploring it as a family. Even adults from this area get lost in DC and find their phone is dead.

[Anonymous]

I agree that it depends on the kid and his/her experience using the public transportation system. Tons of kids younger than 13 use public transportation as their main route to school every day.

[Anonymous]

I would have said 13 was fine but then I had a scary experience on Metro and am not sure. I think it depends on time of day and destination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that it depends on the kid and his/her experience using the public transportation system. Tons of kids younger than 13 use public transportation as their main route to school every day.

For most of these kids, it is a relatively short trip on a route where they are familiar with their surroundings and fellow riders have gotten to know them a little bit and will look out for them. It's very different taking a long ride on an unfamiliar route with people who have never seen you before.

[Anonymous]

I'd be okay with public transit travel back and forth to school at that age.

I think I'd have more caution about a group of kids going to DC via Marc and metro for a day. Definitely not at night.

[Anonymous]

Well, being that my DD is 13.5 and has been taking the trains all over the city her whole life, and taking them alone for the last two years, I think it's fine. I'm a fan of the "text me when you get there" rule and the "stay together" rule.

[Anonymous]

I would think that is well within the range of normal. To me, using public transportation is something that is more geographically (as in plenty of elementary kids in NYC use it) and personally (as in the kid's ability to function) determined than about any magic age. It's about being communicative -a quick text of "off the train at Union Station" -and being street smart by sticking together and only venturing where you feel comfortable.

[Anonymous]

Do these kids know downtown DC? I think that a lot depends on whether they are going somewhere familiar that they've been a ton of times before, or whether they are going somewhere reasonably unfamiliar to them.

[Anonymous]

My personal comfort level is age 15-16, and even then I'd prefer my kid be traveling in a group if it's at night or in more sketchy areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My personal comfort level is age 15-16, and even then I'd prefer my kid be traveling in a group if it's at night or in more sketchy areas.

My now-20yo DD was traveling internationally for anywhere from 2 nights to a week on her own at age 16. Interesting to see how widely things vary. And I mean that seriously, not in any sort of judgment as to whose way is right or best. I think it really comes down to knowing your kid and their level of responsibility and preparation to handle the situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My personal comfort level is age 15-16, and even then I'd prefer my kid be traveling in a group if it's at night or in more sketchy areas.

Serious question: if you don't think your child can take the metro by herself until she's 16, how are you possibly going to feel it's ok for her to go away to college at 18 with only two years of experience navigating the world by herself? This ramp-up seems way too fast. I would want my kids to start gaining experience doing things on their own earlier if only so they will have more practice by the time they are always responsible for themselves. (Of course this would depend on the individual kid.)