Kirstie Allsopp catches heat for allowing son, 15, to go inter-railing across Europe without an adult-Laura Harman-Entertainment – Metro

Kirstie Allsopp has stirred up a bit of a debate online (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Kirstie Allsopp has sparked a debate online after she revealed that her teenage son has just returned from interrailing – without an adult.

The television presenter who is best known for hosting property shows including Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location, and Love it or List it UK, revealed to fans that her son and his 16-yea-old pal organised the whole trip and travelled across Europe, staying in hostels.

On X she revealed: ‘My little boy has returned from 3 weeks inter-railing, he’ll be 16 on Wednesday so he went with a mate who’s already 16 due to hostel/travel restrictions, but they organised the whole thing; Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Marseille, Toulouse, Barcelona & Madrid.

‘For obvious budget reasons inter-railing isn’t on the cards for everyone, but in this increasingly risk averse world it’s vital that we find any ways we can to give our children the confidence that only comes from trusting them.

‘Of course I missed spending the summer with our son, but I’m so proud of him & my loss is nothing compared to his gain & the encyclopaedic knowledge he now has of the differences between one McDonalds & another, if we’re afraid our children will also be afraid, if we let go, they will fly @JonHaidt @FreeRangeKids’

The tweet has sparked a huge debate among fans as many insist that 15 if far too young for a teenager to travel across Europe without any supervision – but Kirstie whole heartedly disagrees.

Around 1.5 million people viewed this tweet (Picture: X/ kirstiemallsopp)

Her tweet was liked by thousands of her followers (Picture: X/ kirstiemallsopp)

The star has 432,000 followers on Twitter (Picture: X/ kirstiemallsopp)

Kirstie’s sons pictured with her in 2021 (Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images)

‘That’s absolutely crazy to let a 16 year old responsible for a 15 years old! Too young for traveling on their own,’ commented DarlingZoe on the TV presenter’s post.

Replying to this comment, Kirsty said: ‘Until 1972 you left school at 15, and the majority then started a job. The human brain has not altered so much since then, why have we stopped respecting young people’s abilities?’

Another commenter, PendletonMartin, added: ‘That’s way too young for my liking.’

To which Kirsty again responded: ‘Well he’s returned safe & sound and having had a great time, different kids mature at different speeds.’

Kirstie son is set to turn 16 soon (Picture: kirstiemallsopp)

Yet another commenter, Pdrewy, replied to Kirstie emphasising the risk facing two young boys travelling alone.

‘Two 16 year olds travelling alone in Europe, I can’t imagine the risk to there safety they/you took allowing them to go. I agree they must be very mature and sensible guys to undertake this adventure, but 16 is taking a big risk…glad they are back safe,’ they said.

Once again, Kirsty responded to this comment, this time asking: ‘Why would an 18 year old be any safer?’

Kirstie has two teenage sons (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Kirstie has two sons with her partner Ben Anderson, named Bay (born in 2006) and Oscar (born in 2008). She is also the stepmother to her partner’s two sons from a previous relationship.

The day after she shared the tweet about her son’s travels she took to the platform to share how delighted she was that this topic had sparked such a lively debate, once again adding how important it was to not live in fear.

‘Thank you so much for all the lovely stories of your own travels & adventures, I have rarely had such a large number of positive tweets on any topic, clearly many people believe that we should trust our kids & really study the risk profile of any activity, not just live in fear,’ she said.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Entertainment – MetroRead More