My 10 year old son went out to the movies with a couple of his classmates.?

Question

one of the boys dad volunteered to "chaperone" them but i found out from my son that the dad just bought tickets and left them on their own. after the movies, the boys went to the arcade and the dad told them to call them after 2 hours so he can pick them up. is this right? or am i being uptight? this dad never called to coordinate about this outing at all until i told his son to have either his mom or dad call us. my husband and the other boys dad spoke to this "dad-chaperone" and he told them not to worry because he will be with them all the time. what should i do? am i such a worry wart? this is the first time my son went to hang out with this boy and we don't know the parents well enough but they seem nice.

Answer 1

I would be worried, there are boys at the age of 13 that are being abducted. My son is 13, I just let him go see a PG 13 movie with his friend and I was in the next movie with my two other children.

Answer 2

ya,he needs freedom,it sounds like your babying him,let him have more privileges,but still be careful and make sure you know the other boys parents well

Answer 3

I think you should let it go... I understand that you may not have liked what accord during the outting, but did you discuss with the dad and your child about what the outting looked like? Such as.. if the dad was attending, what time your son shouls be home... those type of questions. Those are things that should be discusses before so that there is no miscommunication on any end...

Answer 4

Yes, you are being way too uptight. It's okay to worry about your son, but he's already 10, not 5, and he's with his classmates.

EDIT: and HERE come the thumbs downs.

Answer 5

I wouldn't worry my parents did that with me & my friends all the time. He's old enough to know to call you if he needs something, so as long as he isn't in a really bad part of town in a big city he's fine.

EDIT: I would be a bit concerned about the dad lying to you about staying with them.

Answer 6

No you are not being uptight. That father is a jerk and lied to you! You trusted him with your son. Sounds like your a smart mom so I hope you don't let your son go with that father again.

Answer 7

Parental overprotection causes vulnerability in the future

Answer 8

How well do you know this man?  

I wouldn't let my son go to the movies by himself until he was 12, but if a parent was going along, that would be fine.  The key phrase is going along with him.  

If you know the man well, you should tell him that a chaperone is expected to stay with his charges.  I'd also tell him that if he couldn't do that to let me know so I could arrange for someone else to be there.

If you don't know the man well, you should tell your son that you would be going too, or that he can't go.  Ten year olds are too young to be by themselves unsupervised.

Answer 9

i understand your position. they are only 10! not 14. they probably are not big enough to fight off someone and this could have been dangerous.i know i would want my son to be supervised...

Answer 10

Becasue your son is safe, I would talk to your son about how in your family it has been decided that he needs to be ___ years old before he is allowed to go places on his own.  And the next time that dad calls you can just tell him that you weren't comfortable with the situation last time so he won't be able to go.  And your son may be upset, but because you have already discussed it and layed down your rules, he won't be surprised.

I would rather be an overpertective parent who gets to make these decisions, than an easy going parent who is sick to death wondering who took my son and what are they doing to him?  (If my child is really scarred as an adult because he couldn't go to the movies with his friend at 10, I will pay for his therapy. lol, but I think he would get over it)

Good luck and go with your gut instinct.  It's usually right.

Answer 11

I would be very upset that the dad lied about staying with the boys the whole time.  I would never let my 10 year old hangout with friends like that it's a good way to get in trouble.  I would call him and ask why he didn't stay with them when it was stated that he would be with the boys at all times.

Answer 12

10 y/o's need a chaperone. The dad flat out lied to you and you should be PO'd.

nice parenst don't lie to you, right?

Answer 13

You are not being to uptight at all! What could happen if he was on his own? If I was you i would call the father up and say " You said that you were goingto stay with my child all the time. I understand that you didnt."

Answer 14

well im 11....lol

i feel the same way about when my parents feel that way

its ok

thats part of parenting

you want to keep your child safe right?

If he does that again you can tell him

"could you watch the kids?"

Answer 15

Sounds like a good dad--- 10 year olds are pretty resourceful if we let them and don't baby them. Fact is it's the over protected kids who get into trouble.