Would you trust a 16 year old to be left at home alone for the weekend?

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Would you trust a 16 year old to be left at home alone for the weekend?

I want to ask you this because of a message we received from a listener.

Have a listen to it.

Hi Niall,

My husband and I have a predicament on our hands that I was wondering could you get me some advice on it. We have a 16 year old son. He is our only child. We are booking a weekend away and told our son about it. He told us that he doesn’t want to come with us and thinks he is too old to be going away with his parents.

He asked us can he stay home while we go and we are so unsure about what to do. He used to always come with us and I’ll be honest, I did notice him getting bored when he was away with us.

He is too old for a babysitter and said he doesn’t want to go stay with my sister. He wants us to trust him to stay at home by himself for the weekend.

My husband is more on the side of trusting him but I don’t think I can do it. We have left him in the house for a couple of hours if we are going to the local pub but we have never left him for a number of days alone.

He thinks he is old enough, I am not too sure.

Basically, I am hoping maybe a listener can offer some advice as they might have had this situation before themselves.

Is 16 old enough to be left in the house alone for a weekend?

What do you think of this message?

Do you think the mother is being overprotective? Or can you understand why this mother is concerned?

The thing that comes to my head when leaving a 16 year old boy alone in the house is will he have friends in the house? Will he get up to no good? Can you trust your child alone?

All children are different. Some may get up to no good whereas some may sit on their computer and be as good as gold.

Only a parent knows their child but even then – do we as parents really know what our child is capable of getting up to when we are not around. All children have secrets from their parents.

What should this mother do – should she let her 16 year old stay at home alone?

Is 16 old enough to be trusted?

I want to know what you think –

Would you let a 16 year old stay home alone for a weekend?

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