Giving a teen freedom
@sprite1950 (30453)
Corsham, England
October 28, 2021 2:34am CST
Yesterday I let my soon to be 15 year old granddaughter travel on the train with a friend to a neighbouring town for the first time. I was a bit worried but she is quite sensible when it comes to keeping in touch with me by phone.
Imagine my horror when I get a call from the railway supervisor asking me for her date of birth. She is a tall girl and they thought she was older than she was and should not be travelling half fare which is under 16 here. Luckily everything was fine and they were happy to let her get on the train. She came back full of tales about her adventure and showed me everything she had bought.
8 people like this
10 responses
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
28 Oct 21
I bet she was upset about the age thing... Most girls want to be seen as older than they are and then after they reach about 25 years old they try to look younger than they are... It's pretty funny to me.
I'm glad the rest of her adventure went well.
2 people like this
@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
28 Oct 21
When I was 28 I was asked for ID to get into a pub and I was over the moon!
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
28 Oct 21
@sprite1950 I got carded at bars until I was in my 30s... I didn't think it was funny...
I had to bring my son out of a bar when he was 15. The bartender thought he was over 21. 
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@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
28 Oct 21
@DaddyEvil Yes it's a great compliment to be seen as much younger but not appreciated at the time.
Haha did he get drunk?
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I can imagine how much she was excited, her first train travel alone.
You are right giving her some freedom.@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
28 Oct 21
Some parents don't agree but if I let her do a little bit by bit and she copes then I think it is making her independent.
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@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
29 Oct 21
@LadyDuck Yes socialising is important, Teagan is not really shy but she prefers to be around people she knows.
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@LadyDuck (458862)
• Switzerland
29 Oct 21
@sprite1950 Parents must give some freedom. I am noticing that my niece is not at all shy and she know better how to socialize. I was at home all the time, I had a hard time feeling comfortable in public.
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@changjiangzhibin89 (16542)
• China
28 Oct 21
Glad that things work out fine ! My granddaughter is 15 years old too and 1.76 m tall.
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@changjiangzhibin89 (16542)
• China
28 Oct 21
@sprite1950 Wow ! Teagan is tall for her age too !
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@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
28 Oct 21
@changjiangzhibin89 Yes I suppose that's why people think she is older but she still has a young face.
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@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
28 Oct 21
Wow that is tall. Teagan is an inch shorter than that at the moment but we are all tall in my family. My daughter is 1.80m!
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@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
28 Oct 21
I find I let her do more bit by bit and if she behaves well and deals with it well I know she was ready. I do not like her travelling alone though. She should always have a friend with her.
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@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
29 Oct 21
@Shavkat Yes it's a worrying time for parents when they start to grow up.
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@Shavkat (137220)
• Philippines
29 Oct 21
@sprite1950 I do agree that we need to train them before letting them do it on their own.
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@moffittjc (118539)
• Gainesville, Florida
30 Oct 21
I'm glad everything went well for her little adventure!
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@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
30 Oct 21
Yes I expect there will be a few more hair raising experiences for me before she's grown but as long as I have her safe at home at the end of each night I'm happy.
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@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
31 Oct 21
@moffittjc She's very pretty. I don't have a lot of recent ones but she was 13 in this one and looks more or less the same.
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@moffittjc (118539)
• Gainesville, Florida
31 Oct 21
@sprite1950 At least you're going into it with a realistic attitude. There's going to be ups and downs and bumps in the road on her way to adulthood, but all you can do is guide her through it all the best you can and be there for her when she needs you.
Do you have any recent photos of her that you would care to share? I bet she's becoming quite the young woman.
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@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
8 Nov 21
It was her first time ever on the train without me. I kept worrying they would get on the wrong one and end up somewhere miles away!
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@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
8 Nov 21
@nela13 She was with her friends and they seemed to work it out between them. I've been confused at rail stations before though.
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@nela13 (55734)
• Portugal
8 Nov 21
@sprite1950 I would be worried about that too.
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@sulynsi (2671)
• Canada
11 Dec 21
This is SUCH a scary thing - letting go.
Some kids could do this at 15, some, I wouldn't trust if they were twice that old!
My son was 'responsible' and self sufficient pretty much from the get go.
I could trust him at 2.5 to go find his dad when I fell down the stairs.
My daughter? Sigh? She's settled down now and is adulting very well, but for a while, it was touch and go!
1 person likes this
@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
11 Dec 21
You're right. My daughter had bags of common sense but I couldn't trust my son in the house when I wasn't there at 16. There's a huge variation in the way children develop. Since I wrote this post my granddaughter has been on the train a couple more times and been fine.
@JESSY3236 (18955)
• United States
2 Nov 21
I always look young for my age. I'm glad that did happen to me when I rode the train by myself a few years ago.
1 person likes this
@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
29 Oct 21
Yes she loved it on the train even though it was packed.
