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. They explored Parisian boulevardsA wide street in a city or town. , Amsterdam's canals and a dozen local McDonald's menus.

But back at home a storm was brewing. Oscar's mother, TV personality Kirstie Allsopp, was telephoned by social services. Someone had reported her 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. Fogle thinks we should focus on "adding life to your days rather than days to your life."

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

A report by Natural England compared the distance four generations of children were allowed to roam in the Sheffield area. A 2007 eight-year-old was allowed to move 300 yards from home, while their great-grandfather was allowed six miles.

Many believe that parents have become overprotective. 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 the joys, challenges and responsibilities of 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 the 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, walking and cycling 100 times.²

Others argue that the biggest risks are no longer physical. Child safety expert Simon Bailey says: "The online world they inhabit poses greater risks than the physical world in which they live." The safety charity Childlight found that 300 million children worldwide face exploitation and abuse online each year.

Teenagers have long undertaken dangerous journeys. Joan of Arc joined the French army aged 17.³ King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem was 16 when he saved his city from capture. The shepherd boy Stephen of Cloyes was just 12 when he led a crusade of 30,000 children from Paris to Marseille.⁴

More recently, 13-year-old Jordan Romero reached the summit of Mount Everest in 2010.⁵ Two years later, Dutch teenager Laura Dekker sailed solo around the world aged 16. Both hold world records for their efforts.

Yet others say that these are exceptional cases. Most teenagers are not as adventurous or confident. 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.

Some link laissez-faire parenting to adult cruelty. Britain's poshest families have traditionally sent their children to boarding school, where they are removed from parental affection for months at a time.  According to author Richard Beard, this leads to immature, arrogant and entitled adults. Early independence can create adult monsters.

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 it is safe. Parents' first duty is to protect their children. 

Or... It should not be about whether to let go or not. Teenagers have their own agency and are capable of making decisions about their lives. Rather, the answer should come from open discussion between a parent and their child.

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