Should We Allow Our Children To Travel Without Adults? | Letters

Readers respond to the news of Kirstie Allsopp being reported to social services after letting her son travel around Europe aged 15, and share their experiences

I am astounded that Kirstie Allsopp was reported to social services for allowing her son to travel abroad at 15 (Kirstie Allsopp reported to social services for allowing son, 15, to travel abroad, 25 August). I left school at 15 in 1973, then I left home and got a job within a couple of months. My brother went to Spain with friends for a holiday when he was 14. I sent my son to New Zealand alone when he was 14 to stay with his uncle. Until last year, you could marry at 16 with parental consent. I struggle to understand what has been done to endanger this young man. As responsible parents we should be sending out our children to find their own way in the world. At 15 they are young adults, not big children.
Sharron Murray
Carlisle

• It’s not clear why Kirstie Allsopp feels so affronted by having a child protection investigation into her 15-year-old son’s trip abroad. They’ve not said she is a bad mother, or that he shouldn’t have gone, or that the child protection concerns have been substantiated. They’ve just investigated, and that investigation will remain on file for future reference if needed. Isn’t that what we want child protection services to do, to check allegations to see if there is cause for concern or not? As to whether the original allegation was malicious, well, so are many of them. That’s why social workers go in with an open mind, as they seem to have done in this case.
Sylvia Rose
Totnes, Devon