Is it responsible for a parent to let a 12-year-old child ride the NYC subway alone?

by Chris Leahy

Created on: July 15, 2009

Is it responsible for a parent to let a twelve-year-old ride on a New York City subway alone?

The answer to this frivolous debate is an indisputable NO.

Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps we need to remind ourselves that this is not your happy, safe, little suburban house with Brinks Home Security. This is a public subway, with people from perhaps all five boroughs riding in it.

The idea that any parent would allow a twelve-year-old child to ride ALONE on a New York City subway by himself (or herself) is ridiculous.

I was reading one of the articles written by the opposing side in this debate, and she (or he - I won't specify) said that too many parents have become helicopter parents, and don't allow their children to see the world for what it is.

I agree with such a statement - helicopter parents need to back off and let a child experience life. Just not when they're twelve, and not on a public subway, and not in New York City.

Helicopter parents need to allow their children to make mistakes - to LET them fall off their bike once to let them fully understand how to ride one, rather than persistently helping them on and off like an incessant mosquito. Helicopter parents should give their children advice on how to live their life, but they shouldn't live their children's lives for them.

That being said, children need to be watched and supervised at a young age. A young age such as twelve. Letting your child hang out with a friend at a local and SAFE park is fine. Allowing a twelve-year-old child to ride a subway alone, without supervision or previous experience, is not.

A twelve-year-old child is not necessarily going to be raped, abducted, or murdered on the spot, but the chances of a potential nightmare for you as a parent are a lot higher than if you had just taken the subway with him or her.

Perhaps it's because I happen to know a lot more about New York City then the opposing sides' debaters. Perhaps it's because I've BEEN to all five boroughs, the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. Perhaps it's because I've been on subways in New York City for most of my life that I'm not pretending to know what it's like to ride on a subway in NYC when I live in places like Canada or on the West Coast, and only occasionally visit it.

I am not trying to trash or beat down any of the other articles on this topic, but I find it preposterous that you would let a child ride a subway by himself (or herself) unsupervised when they're twelve. Even if you're riding a subway in Manhattan - say Times Square - letting your child do so just isn't WORTH IT. Let them grow up - maybe when they're 16 or older, you can talk with them about it. You don't need to be a helicopter parent, but you do need to have some sense as a parent - enough sense to not let your twelve-year-old child ride a subway by themselves in New York City.

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