I guess I feel like I can't be there for every single thing my children do. I want them to be independent and have their own experiences. I can't do background checks on every adult they interact with. I do my best to set them up for success, talk about safety, give them the tools they need to excel.

But everything is dangerous. One of the most dangerous things we do is drive or be passengers in cars. Yet no one bats an eye at that because it's so common.

Sometimes the choice isn't pick my kids up myself or let them uber home. Sometimes the choice is let them uber home or don't let them go at all. Sometimes the experience is worth the (tiny) risk.

I wonder how many of the posters criticizing allowing teens to use uber are parents whose children aren't teenagers yet, considering this is on GP instead of the teen board. I know when my dd was 3, I couldn't imagine letting her ride with a stranger or use public transportation alone. But she grew, and we're growing. And now she's 14, a rising sophomore, and in 3 short years she'll be moving away to college. All I can do is hope I've taught her how to manage safely on her own. For me, part of that is realizing that if I daddy get her to adulthood in a bubble and never let her take any calculated risks, I haven't taught her how to live in the real world.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems crazy that a 15 year old couldn't be trusted to get home from a concert but magically at 17 or 18 they're okay on their own for college?

Uh, yeah. I'm not sure why you're so incredulous. There's a big difference between a 15 year old and an 18 year old

Probably because this wasn't posted in the right forum.

Anonymous wrote:DD is 15 and uses uber as do all her friends. Not a preference but it happens if a parent cannot take her somewhere or pick her up. I like her having the option to leave a situation immediately to come home if she wants to. She goes to a number of concerts. I always go with her and her friends and drive them there and remain on site, in the venue, the entire time. Even if it's not my type of music. Do parents letting kids uber and attend unsupervised know what is going on at these concerts? They may not sell alcohol to minors but the kids who are not es or Ted by parents are showing up very drunk and there was so much pot smoked at a recent Jiffy Lube concert on the lawn that even with the fresh air, I was worried my driving would be impaired.

The concert I took my DD and her friends to I saw young girls getting drinks from older men, my daughter and her friends were in front of an older girl doing a line of cocaine on a credit card with a rolled up dollar, the artist asked all the girls to show some breast and up went the tops. It was an eye-opener and much to discuss with my daughter the next day. I volunteered to go because my daughter wanted to go and the other moms were just planning on dropping them off which I wouldn't do. I am glad I was able to have a proper discussion with my daughter regarding what she saw. I wonder if her friend's parents are aware of the environment they were planning on sending their daughters into alone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the original poster. My 14 old DD is not allowed to use Uber but her friends use it all the time. She thinks I am being too strict and I told her in this case I am protecting my child from being placed in a situation she shouldn't be. I will not go into further details about her friends and these Uber drives but only to say it's very concerning to me and my husband. Maybe we are too conservative but being able to follow your child's Uber ride on GPS and texting during the trip does not keep them safe if the texting stops and the GPS shows your child going in a different direction than home or the driver is behaving inappropriately. I guess you can call the police. There are plenty of cases of assault and even assault of a 13 year old girl but I am not sure why someone needs an incident like this to justify whether or not to let their young daughter or son ride with Uber alone.

https://pilotonline.com/news/local/crime/uber-driver-charged-with-raping-passenger-in-virginia-beach/article_1e5017ff-ce21-5ea6-b725-c38bd3c1c2bf.html

http://wtkr.com/2017/05/04/uber-driver-accused-of-assaulting-high-school-passenger-in-court/

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/05/09/florida-uber-driver-arrested-for-kidnapping-rape.html

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/florida-uber-driver-sex-assault-teen-422121384.html

There are more incidents.

So the point is that women shouldn't use uber, not that minors shouldn't use uber. Right? Because violence was committed against women of all ages.

Should I also not let my children go to church or school? I saw some news stories about teachers and clergy molesting children. Far more than the uber articles, in fact.

Look you can make whatever point you want. Sexual assault can and does happen to boys but doesn't get reported as often. I don't care to make any point except that my 14 year old daughter will not be riding in an Uber. My oldest daughter who is 20 doesn't like riding alone in Ubers and that is her own opinion based on some of the drivers that made her feel uncomfortable. As for church, no you shouldn't allow your child to be alone with a clergy and if you belong to a church that participates in the safe church program your child would not be permitted to be alone with any adult at church male or female. I use to teach Sunday school but before I did I had to participate in a Safe Church program and as a teacher I had to have another person in the room with me when with a child. This was the result of a a few teen girls being molested by a member of the church who ran the summer drama camp. What you should understand most of these crimes are crimes of opportunity and although they are not the norm, they do happen.

DD is 15 and uses uber as do all her friends. Not a preference but it happens if a parent cannot take her somewhere or pick her up. I like her having the option to leave a situation immediately to come home if she wants to. She goes to a number of concerts. I always go with her and her friends and drive them there and remain on site, in the venue, the entire time. Even if it's not my type of music. Do parents letting kids uber and attend unsupervised know what is going on at these concerts? They may not sell alcohol to minors but the kids who are not es or Ted by parents are showing up very drunk and there was so much pot smoked at a recent Jiffy Lube concert on the lawn that even with the fresh air, I was worried my driving would be impaired.

Anonymous wrote:Seems crazy that a 15 year old couldn't be trusted to get home from a concert but magically at 17 or 18 they're okay on their own for college?

At the age of 18 with a license not a provisional one, they can drive themselves home if they have a car. Yes, there is a difference from 15 and 18. You must not have experience with teens and young adults.

Because they trust that their child will be among the majority of people not assaulted.

I wouldn't do it, because I'm an anxious, involved parent.

But I see how others would.

Anonymous wrote:I am the original poster. My 14 old DD is not allowed to use Uber but her friends use it all the time. She thinks I am being too strict and I told her in this case I am protecting my child from being placed in a situation she shouldn't be. I will not go into further details about her friends and these Uber drives but only to say it's very concerning to me and my husband. Maybe we are too conservative but being able to follow your child's Uber ride on GPS and texting during the trip does not keep them safe if the texting stops and the GPS shows your child going in a different direction than home or the driver is behaving inappropriately. I guess you can call the police. There are plenty of cases of assault and even assault of a 13 year old girl but I am not sure why someone needs an incident like this to justify whether or not to let their young daughter or son ride with Uber alone.

https://pilotonline.com/news/local/crime/uber-driver-charged-with-raping-passenger-in-virginia-beach/article_1e5017ff-ce21-5ea6-b725-c38bd3c1c2bf.html

http://wtkr.com/2017/05/04/uber-driver-accused-of-assaulting-high-school-passenger-in-court/

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/05/09/florida-uber-driver-arrested-for-kidnapping-rape.html

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/florida-uber-driver-sex-assault-teen-422121384.html

There are more incidents.

So the point is that women shouldn't use uber, not that minors shouldn't use uber. Right? Because violence was committed against women of all ages.

Should I also not let my children go to church or school? I saw some news stories about teachers and clergy molesting children. Far more than the uber articles, in fact.

Anonymous wrote:Seems crazy that a 15 year old couldn't be trusted to get home from a concert but magically at 17 or 18 they're okay on their own for college?

Uh, yeah. I'm not sure why you're so incredulous. There's a big difference between a 15 year old and an 18 year old

Anonymous wrote:Seems crazy that a 15 year old couldn't be trusted to get home from a concert but magically at 17 or 18 they're okay on their own for college?

There's a huge difference between 15 and 18. It's not about trusting the kid, but not placing them willfully in unsafe situations.

I'm of the mind that no one, no matter their age should take an Uber alone if at all possible.

Seems crazy that a 15 year old couldn't be trusted to get home from a concert but magically at 17 or 18 they're okay on their own for college?

Wow. Our DD is almost 16. One of us gets there early and waits in car outside.

Anonymous wrote:You have to be 18 to use Uber, right? Anyway a 16 yr old daughter of a friend was propositioned by an Uber driver. And when she told her parents and they complained, their account was dropped.


Parents today are even less involved in their kids lives than ever before. We are the laziest generation of parents ever.

I agree. Why have children? Yes, you need to be 18 and when you download the AP you abide and agree to Uber's rules so legally having your child driven by an Uber according to their company, you agreed that you understood the rules 18 and up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a thing. 14 yo girls don't go to concerts ending at midnight alone. If they go at all they go in groups.

It is a thing. They may go in groups and yes alone but some take Uber home. What time do you think concerts end if it starts at 8pm with a headliner?

My DD who is 14 asked me can she go to a concert with her friends. She said X's mom is taking us. I inquired about the venue, called the mom and found out she would drop the girls off, she wasn't planning on staying and the girl's would take an Uber back to her home where we could pick them up. I told my daughter absolutely not. First, she isn't going to a concert by herself. In my book when a parent says she is taking her 14 year old daughter and her friends to concert that means she will be physically in the same building the entire time and then she will drive them back to her house, not an Uber.

You have to be 18 to use Uber, right? Anyway a 16 yr old daughter of a friend was propositioned by an Uber driver. And when she told her parents and they complained, their account was dropped.


Parents today are even less involved in their kids lives than ever before. We are the laziest generation of parents ever.