Would you let your 16 y/o go to Philadelphia for summer internship?

[Anonymous]

My independent and trustworthy 16 y/o DD wants to accept a summer internship located in Philadelphia. While I'm excited to see that she's trying to do something over the summer, I'm concerned that she's too young to stay there by herself for the two months of the program. We don't know anyone there, so she would most likely be renting an apartment/room all alone and driving herself to and from the internship. Should I let her go?

[Anonymous]

Probably not by herself as a 16 yr old.

[Anonymous]

I think sixteen is too young for most ways to live, but I do think she's old enough to rent a room on some campus.

I'm hesitant to say "she's too immature", since my sixteen year old would have been too young to have applied so I don't want to project.

[Anonymous]

Who will rent to a 16 year old? I would worry about that, and (maybe even more) her as a young driver in a city she doesn't know. It's not an easy city to drive around. Could she live on a campus (or with people you know) and take public transportation? I guess if it's a very unique and rare opportunity I might try to make it work--would she be in Center City?

[Anonymous]

No. I have a very responsible and trustworthy 16 year old and there is no chance.

What part of Philadelphia would she be in?

[Anonymous]

No, never.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely not, unless she were living with family or (adult) friends of family.

[Anonymous]

Based on my older two daughters at age 16, I would say most likely, if we could figure out her living situation in a way that she and both parents were all comfortable with. My wife is the more protective one, but if it were something like a friend of the family, a university dorm, or housing specifically for teens and younger adults, that would probably be acceptable. Other skills of daily living should likely be things teens have mastered by age 16, so we wouldn't have many worries on that front considering how easy it would be to contact home for any necessary advice, and if anything went wrong a parent or close relative could also get there fairly quickly. Our eldest daughter started college at age 17, and our goal was always to have her well prepared for successful independent living by that age, so the opportunity OP's teen has seems within the realm of reasonable for an ambitious, confident, and mature older teenager.

[Anonymous]

It better be a great internship if you're going to shell out for an apartment and a car for her. Even for a mature teenager, I feel there needs to be some adult there who would be her general guardian. It might be better if one of her parents visited at least once a week to verify everything is safe and stable, but it would be even better to have someone there every day. It would be different for an 18-year-old, but 16 still seems too young to me.

[Anonymous]

Wow I spent a summer in a foreign country, interning and studying the language when I was 16. If she is responsible, why not?

[Anonymous]

If a living situation with a family or a slightly older teen yes, alone I would hesitate.

[Anonymous]

If it were a program with like .... a group and an adult or two overseeing them and she were staying in apartment with 2-3 other 16 yr olds and they all traveled back and forth on mass transit or walked together, then SURE, THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!

But going by herself, with a car, without any high school roommates or the support/structure of a program? No.

[Anonymous]

Sixteen year olds are very high risk drivers.. I wouldn't do it.

[Anonymous]

I live in Philly and I WOULD NOT LET MY 16 year old do this at all. Dont do this- not safe. I sometimes don't feel safe in philly and I am a 26 year old woman.

[Anonymous]

In your situation no.

Applaud her effort, but help her find an internship close to home or where close family members or friends live.