Go to the fair alone for 4 hours? From about 6 ot 10 PM?

2 boys 1 girl

I'd say go to the fair as well. Be there, but let them do their thing.

All kids are different. My oldest couldnt handle it.

Originally posted by ROKN ZJ
I'd say go to the fair as well. Be there, but let them do their thing.

My answer as well.

No. It's not that I wouldn't trust my kids, its that I wouldn't trust the other crazies who hang out at the fair at 10pm.

Depens on the fair.

Our country fairs are a haven for gang activity and have thousands of police on hand.

Now, a fair where my ranch is at in BFE, no problem.

i voted other, because i dont have kids.

Originally posted by 64rovr
No. It's not that I wouldn't trust my kids, its that I wouldn't trust the other crazies who hang out at the fair at 10pm. Exactly!!!:eek:

I wouldnt. Especially in this day and age.

I voted they are old enough to handle it. But it also depends on the fair as BBQ-boy already said. And yes I would be there at the fair I wouldn't drop them off.

Just give them some condoms and tell them to stay from anyone with a hook. :flipoff2:

Depends on the size of the fair, our fair is really small and everyone knows just about everyone in my town.

Carnies give me the hebie geebies.

Penacylin may help.

Originally posted by JeepinDoug
Carnies give me the hebie geebies.

Penacylin may help.


Good point, I haven't been to a fair in so long I forgot about the penicillin.

Originally posted by ROKN ZJ
I'd say go to the fair as well. Be there, but let them do their thing.

Originally posted by IndianaJones
Depens on the fair.

Our country fairs are a haven for gang activity and have thousands of police on hand.

Now, a fair where my ranch is at in BFE, no problem.

These two answers sum it up. The county fair where I grew up, the worst they are gonna do is score some beer at the 4H tent. The county fair here, I wouldn't let my fawkin mother go to unnatended.

I would let them go, and do their own thing, but I would be there. And I wouldn't be harsh if they got in "a little trouble", but I'd kick their ass if it was any more than "a little."

It depends on the circumstances.

More than likely I would not unless:

The kids were responsible, street smart, and...
If I lived next door, where they could check in every so often.
or
I knew I had family and friends there that I could trust.
or
I was postive that it was secure environment (not likely).

I would more than likely attend myself, and let the kids do there own thing but had to check in with me every hour.

I have let my son and his friends go on the midway by themselves but I was never far away. Depends on the kids and the area. Howard county fair is small and I know alot of the people. Other ones hell no.

Thanks for all the opinions, guys (and ladies).

My opinion is "Never ever ever". 12 YO's are not capable of making the right choices at that age especially with one of the three (not mine) being a girl. it adds that extra element of potential trouble.

MAYBE nothing bad would happen but the potential is huge.

Also, I HATE it when I see young unattended kids running rampant at big events like that and (frequently) being rude, cutting in lines, yelling, cussing, bumping into people, etc.

IMO, it's like they get this pack mentality going and no one else exists to them. It's happened to me too at that age so I'm talking from experience. Kids just feed off each other till all the sudden "oops!" somebody is hurt or in a fight or in trouble in a dozen different ways. Then they are truly remorseful but it's too late. :(

EDIT: BTW this is the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa. It's a pretty big fair and it's usually pretty bad but this year they seem to have made it more family friendly. I was there during the day and it was really nice. I'm sure it's a lot worse in the evenings.

Don't know if I would today, though we did it all the time when I was that age. I'd probably let my daughter "run loose" at the fair when she turns 12, but only if I'm somewhere on the grounds.


TEX

Got 2 cell phones?

Go to the fair with them, but let them roam around on their own. However, they have to check in every hour, either by cell or at a meeting place - maybe a call in 1 hour, meeting the next, etc.

If they don't check in, you call them. If they don't answer, you have the PA guy call their names as lost children and embarrass them so badly that they'll never forget again. :D

Schly - Greg's oldest is 12 and she is also wanting to do things on her own, with her friends. We are finding it difficult to let go of her, Greg especially (*his little girl*) but she needs to develop her own persona and develop friendships - its an important time in her life, perhaps a "life developing" stage that could set the tone for years to come.

We realise this and to combat any fears or worries, she's been drilled over and over about the dangers of strangers....AND we bought her a cell phone for her birthday which she carries with her at all times - BUT....we have made strict rules about the phone. She knows that its only for use in an emergency....or to call and say the "movie's over, can you pick me up now"...or "I'm ready to come home from the mall".......we've even let her go swimmin on her own and *gasp* - to "Teen Skate" in February.

She's having fun...and it shows her that we think she's responsible which in turn develops maturity and respect.

I'd say....let your 12 year old go....give that trust and set some ground rules. If the trust is broken...then take away the priviledge - they learn very quickly to respect the rules.

Good luck! ;)

I had two brothers and have two sons. My Grandpa used to say before he beat us, "A boy is a boy, two boys are half a boy and three boys are no boy at all!...........whack!" My son is 12 and is too young to hang out at the fair.

i agree with lisa

and each kid is different.... i let my 8 year old girl go out back to the park and the track to ride bikes and play and she takes her 2 brothers...i let them both walk about 2-3 blocks home from school this last year(gr 1 and 2)...and they will be walking again this year..my kids arent stupid and know what to do and not to do.....they also have classes at there school where they learn stranger danger and all that....

I do think that each kid is different tho...i wouldnt let myson go alone but my daughter is very mature and i know she can handle things...

As far as the fair is concerned....all depends...i dont think i would if it was a huge one in the city...but a country fair or local thingy i would....just have a meeting time and place...

:)

bigburlyguy....THAT saying is great! totally true! LOL :D

Their are alot of gangs that hang out at the santa rosa fair. I go during the day but try to stay away at night.

here's what bothers me.... 2 boys, one girl. are they borther/sister? friends? cause i know what I was thinking about when I was 12....boys! :D so that would have a little weight on the decision....

our kids can go run amuck at the fair as long as we are there and are watching them. don't ever have problems with being rude or cutting in line. they stay home by themselves, but that's different that being around crazy people by themselves, I think. I wouldn't let them go by themselves.

None are related. I was thinking the same thing.

So many factors would influence my decision:

How responsible are they?

Are they my kids?

What Fair? The state fair-No way! City / County fair-perhaps.


I know that when I was 12, I would have been Okay-So I would lean toward yes if other factors were positive.-Only you know your kids and if you have to ask, play it safe and join them at the fair.

Do you know all the kids that are gonna be together? If so and they're responsible let the kids have fun. At 12, it is probably a good idea to be at the fair in case something happens, but like Mud Bunny said, let the kids grow up a bit and learn to handle learing carnies and other realities of life.

When I was 12 (back in the dark ages of 1966) I used to ride the bus from Glendale (suburb of LA) to the beach with a transfer in downtown LA. Me and my buddy learned alot that summer snooping into the skid row liquor stores and bottom-end diners. At the same time, we also met and took a bank tour from a bank president and learned to appreciate some of LAs old architecture (you REALLY gotta look for that). Yeah, there were some wierdos and drunks to deal with and I'm sure my mom would have flipped had she know we took 2-1/2 hours to transfer buses :flipoff2: , but by 12, most kids have enough sense about themselves to get outta wierd situations before they become, well, wierd situations. Gotta trust 'em to remember what ya taught 'em.

Unless kids get a chance to deal with things a bit, they'll never have the skill sets to survive in this world. Hence the reasion I keep tryin' to get my own kids (now 22 to 29) to get the hell outta this small, middle class white town and get out into the real world of LA or San Francisco. These kids aren't dumbv though: they know the livin's easy (and safe) in Nevada County.

Put tracking devices on 'em. It's a new game called "Trolling for Pedophiles"... :eek:

Just kidding. Some kids can handle it, some can't.

I wouldn't let them go alone. I remember being 12 and I owned the world till I turned 13 then I owned the world and was smarter.:rolleyes:

My girlfriend has two boys 16 an 9. The 16 year old I might have let go to a fair because he is smart and knows there are people who have there own agenda. Him being 5'8 150# at 12 didn't hurt either. The 9 year old still gets lost in his room and even at 12 I wouldn't let him do something alone.

This is a little OT but I watched a show(60 minutes/20/20?) about kids and guns and they had a women who had a doctoret(sp?) in child phycology(sorry) and she and her son talked every day about what to do if he sees or finds a gun. On the tape he says "find an adult, don't touch it". The show stashes a real gun )with a solid barrel) in a toy box and hide ammo in another part of the room. Her son and another kid start playing in the room and find the gun. First thing the kid does is pick it up and point it at the other kids head, then chases him around the room screaming BANG! BANG!. Kid's mom lost it and started crying.

My point being that you can tell your kids whatever you want but left to their own devices they will do what they want.

Alone? FAWK no.

I'm not even allowed to go to the fair alone now! :D :roxy:

not at 12 , there are way too many freaks and pedophiles out there for my comfort , even at our tiny county fair. i went when i was around 12 but that was 20 years ago and its a much different world now:rolleyes:

boys-YES
girl-hell-NO

I went to the fair when i was that age with my friends
It took us like two weeks to talk the girls parents to let them go
But we all went an had a good time i'm very pretective of any girls i'm friends with an i always look out for them

I live in a fairly small town and some time still go out and make a appearance at the fair . If there's one thing I've noticed , it brings out some of the finest citizens in town and also some of the worst citizens so, I would definitely vote . HELL NO!!!

I grew up in a town of about 5000 that swelled to about 20,000 for one week in July. I started going to the fair with my buddies at about 12 but then again I had the run of the town and could stay out untill 10:00 in the summer from the time I was 10 too.:D

I dunno bout the rest of you but that is close to the time me and my buddies used to see how many girls we could feel up/make out with at the far :flipoff2:

Originally posted by Roxywheels
I'm not even allowed to go to the fair alone now! :D :roxy:

thats cause you come home with porn from the tanning booth....no telling what you'll bring home from the fair...




:D


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