12 yr old wants to cycle with her group to a friend's colony across the main road

lagoon_river_7111

daughter 12. in the holidays her friends cycle to each other's houses, one of them is on the other side of the main road. no adult. partner says too early, i think maybe ok with conditions. anyone allowed this at 12

6 comments

  • coral_drum_4452

    We allowed this at 13, not 12, but the process may still help. The first time, one parent rode the route with the girls and they agreed together where to cross: at the signal, not wherever there was a gap. Then a call on arrival and a fixed time to leave. The second time nobody went along. It was the trial run that settled the disagreement at home.

  • amber_spoon_412

    Mine are 6 and 7 so nowhere near this. But isn't the main road the real question, more than her age? Same road at 14 is still the same road 🤷

  • pebble_quilt_9337

    My chechi's daughter started cycling to her friends' colony at 12, after riding it a few times with her amma first so she knew the turns. Now she's the one telling her amma which lane is quicker 🙂 Ours is only 8, so I'm just taking notes.

    • moss_balcony_3915

      Riding it with a parent first makes sense to me. My daughter is 6 and already knows the turns to her school because we walk it on weekends. Familiarity probably counts for more than the exact age.

  • willow_violin_5024

    My 13 year old asked for this last year. We agreed on a staged version: cycling with friends, but with a parent waiting at the friend's house for the first few trips. After that we dropped the parent at the other end. The plan was boring to agree on, which was rather the point.

  • cedar_kettle_1867

    same age same request here. we said no for the holidays, maybe after. festival traffic on the main roads is a different thing altogether. not sure we're right

  • amber_veranda_2634

    Our daughter is 11 and we have not yet allowed this, so I am speaking from planning rather than experience. One question I would put before the age question: does she know what to do if her cycle gets a puncture halfway or the group splits up? If she can answer that calmly, the conversation with your partner may become easier.

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