Oscar, 15, was having the time of his life. He and a 16-year-old friend celebrated finishing their GCSEs by travelling across Europe by train.

But back at home a storm was brewing. Oscar's mother, TV personality Kirstie Allsopp, had been reported to the council for letting her son travel without an adult.

The story fanned a furious debate. "I'd never," thundered Metro's Gillian Harvey, "let my teens do what Kirstie Allsopp allowed her 15-year-old to". 

Others leapt to Allsopp's defence. The Times' Marina Fogle claimed that being allowed to travel as a teenager enriched her life. Risks and mistakes helped her to grow.

Allsopp's story played into a continuous argument being raised around parenting. Today's parents are generally more anxious about their children's safety than their own parents were. As parenting expert Anita Cleare says: "Children now spend more of their time being supervised, more time inside the house, less time in independent free play."¹

Many believe that parents have become too protective. Sociologist Jennie Bristow argues that: "The more we try to 'protect' children from the dangers and pleasures of everyday life, the less we prepare them for adulthood." Independence is a skill to be learnt. 

In the Allsopp case, there is no evidence that travelling around Europe by train is any more dangerous than crossing a street in the UK. The risk of death on a train is effectively zero. Coaches produce 0.3 fatalities per billion kilometres travelled. Cars are nearly 10 times as dangerous.²

Others argue that the biggest risks are now online, where children can come into contact with bullies and worse.

Some teenagers have made far more dangerous journeys. For example, 13-year-old Jordan Romero reached the summit of Mount Everest in 2010.⁵ Two years later, Dutch teen Laura Dekker sailed solo around the world aged 16. Both hold world records for their efforts.

Yet others say that these are exceptional cases. Safeguarding children is difficult and involves balancing childhood freedom with protective measures. 

If solo travel does lead to danger, the parent is too far away to help. We should also think of the parents, who may face their own anxiety over their absent children.

Would you have let him go?

Yes: The world is full of dangers. But this has always been the case. We need to experience it to learn from it. And, if anything, travel has grown safer with technology and mass tourism. The real risks for teenagers are closer to home.

No: How would Allsopp feel if something bad had happened to her son? Travelling around Europe might be safer than browsing social media or crossing a busy road, but that does not mean that it is safe. Parents' first duty is to protect their children. 

Or... Teenagers have their own agency and are capable of making decisions about their lives. The answer should be worked out through discussion between a parent and their child.

FOR YOUR SUMMER READING CHALLENGE CLUE GO TO STEP SIX IN THE SIX STEPS TO DISCOVERY BELOW.