child wants to leave home

[mikesnook1]

at what age can a child legally leave home?

[BrainsTracy]

16

[ummmm]

Depends where they are going.

[ladybirder]

Are you talking about in England?

[ladybirder]

If you're talking about England it is 16 with parental consent and 17 without.

[ojread2]

it's 18 without, 16 and 17 you need it

[sandyRoe]

Whatever the age that they can legally leave, what do they think they'll live on?

[ummmm]

It depends where they are going to and why...

If a child over the age of 12 leaves home and goes to a responsible relative, neither social services or the police will return them against their will.

[ojread2]

still need permission though um

[Buenchico]

There appears to be some confusion above, despite Brains having given the correct answer in the first post.

At the age of 16 (in any part of the UK) a young person is entitled to walk out of their home and, if they so choose, never have any contact with their parents again. If their parents reported them as 'missing', and their location became known to the police, the police would be prohibited from telling the parents where their child was (although they could report that they were safe and well).

The rule about "16 with parental consent or 17 without it" refers to getting married, not to leaving home.

The age of 18 is irrelevant, except that a young person under the age of 18 can't enter into a legal contract without an adult guarantor (which could, for example, present practical difficulties for a young person trying to rent a bedsit).

Chris

[ojread2]

http://england.shelte...eparing_to_leave_home

Not according to Shelter - it is 18

[boxtops]

anyway - irrespective of age - this question has been asked several times before by young people, and the big response has always been "how are you going to support yourself"?

[Buenchico]

The problem with looking for a specific law, OJR, is that nobody has ever written a relevant statute.

For example, compare the information from your link with that on the Childline website:
http://www.childline....law/pages/rights.aspx
(Click 'Housing').

Chris

[albaqwerty]

that's the thing boxy. 'I've lest home, i'm an adult yeah right.

My 17 yr old was working but came back home as most of his wages were going in elec gas and rent.

[ladybirder]

Not according to ChildLine either where it says 16 with parental consent (with a couple of caveats) and 17 without parental consent as I said in my post at 16.37. So someone is wrong here when Childline and Shelter don't agree.

http://www.childline....law/pages/rights.aspx

[albaqwerty]

ladybirder, I stand t be proved wrong, I thought that at 16, if you had somewhere togo to, you could leave the family home

[ojread2]

indeed Chris - and believe me when I say I know the UN convention on the rights of a child inside out. Every last bloomin one of em

[ladybirder]

Alba I'm just quoting ChildLine:

Age 16
- You can leave home with your parents' consent, or without it if you are leaving an abusive or neglectful situation.

Age 17
- You can leave home without your parents' consent.

[Buenchico]

As I indicated above, nobody has ever written a law on the mater. A 10-year-old MAY walk out of his parents' home. (i.e. he wouldn't be committing any offence by doing so). However, of course, his parents would clearly expect 'the authorities' to ensure that he returned.

So the real question isn't as to when a young person can legally walk out of the door. (There's no such age). The question is really this:
"At what age will 'the authorities' (i.e. the police & social services) no longer intervene to return a young person to their home?".
With the exception of certain extremely vulnerable people (e.g. those with learning difficulties), the answer to that question is nearly always '16'.

Chris

[ladybirder]

BTW can I point out the the link to Shelter from ojread2 is for Scotland.

[albaqwerty]

ladyb, I wasnot meaning to be any offensive to your post. or to you

There are many questions asked here and I wish to be enlightened :D