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Sending him to stay with a friend is one good idea. If he is generally trustworthy then I would lean towards letting him stay home but of course there's a strong possibility he'll have a party (one of those lovely teenage rites of passage) but if you trust him to not let strangers come and keep things under control then why not.
If he's a good kid and people will be checking in on him, I don't see what the problem is. I know there were a couple weekends when I was in high school when I was home by myself. My parents knew I wasn't going to break into the liquor cabinet or throw a wild party or anything.
We left our 16 year old home alone for a week, he loved it, did nothing wrong and couldn't wait for us to go away again ! Maybe we were lucky to have a responsible kid. I was in the Army at 17 (of course this was many years ago when all kids were good )
We are leaving for vacation in a few weeks. Our 16-1/2 yo son would like to skip the 1st three days of it and join us later (us = mom, dad & 11 yo daughter). He is participating in a 7 week summer internship and if he takes vacation the entire week, he will be working later into the summer and cut into the free time before he gets into HS X-country training. Also, he says getting too old for these "family vacations" and rather spend time with his friends.
I (dad) am leaning toward saying yes. Of course, we would be in constant contact with him on those days and have friends and neighbors checking in. My wife is leaning towards no, saying he should go on the entire vacation.
He is generally a very responsible kid. Honor student, lots of xtra cirricular activities, sports. Some of his friends though tend to be a little wild. I'm looking for feedback from parents who have been in a similar situation or any parent who has an opinion.
You know your son, we don't
But it sounds as though he is pretty mature and trustworthy.
Personally, I would have a discussion where you establish ground rules that he agrees to, have a neighbor or friend on standby who will check in on him and give him this opportunity for growth.
Generally, our kids will rise to the level of our expectations of them.
The higher you set the bar, the higher they aim and the more self-confidence they develop
When my older sister was 16 she stayed home alone for a few weeks while the rest of us were on vacation. We younger siblings went for our regular vacation with relatives in another state. Our mother went to Europe. My sister stayed home, went to summer school, and worked two jobs (daily babysitting and fast food). The only unapproved thing she did was adopt a dog. (This was mid 70's.)
Our dad lived about 15 miles away, but no one thought of my sister needing supervision.
That said, for most 16-year-olds, I'd say No. OP's son sounds like a good kid, but the mom is not comfortable with this. I agree with having him stay at a friend's - if he has one who isn't wild.
My parents took us to Fontana Dam every year and we'd go rafting, hiking, etc. When I turned 16 I was tired of it, so my little brother took one of his friends in my place and I was left at home for the weekend. I was a partier but I had way too much respect for my parents to have a party there. I did invite my boyfriend over one night but not the whole night. I guess it's about respect.
As a parent, we let our 16 year old stay home alone while we went to Vegas. We got two phone calls while we were gone, one that she had stolen my husband's work van and was traipsing all over town in it, and then another when her older sister drove by and saw she was having a party and made everybody go home.
When we got home early Sunday morning, we saw she had had some kind of bonfire in the garage (where there was gas and oil stored), there were boys sleeping in her room (she had a friend over), and the house was a wreck. And she was our golden child.
Good luck!
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I've been both the kid & the parent
