>>BTW I would say out on your own at 12 is (thank god) pretty normal
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>Did you mean to write that? It is normal for a 12 year old to go into town and shop alone there? When I was 12 (back in 1972) the world was much different. Even then we went only in groups and I lived in a very small town of 8,000. Most kids in the town worked on farms so it was somewhat normal to see them out and about alone, but not in town or in stores.
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>Today, a 12 year old is seldom out alone or going into downtown or a large store alone. I wouldn't have considered it when my daughter was 12.
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>Do you know that it is estimated that there are over 100,000 teenagers in sex slavery here in this country who were abducted when out alone or with their friends?

Over here it is pretty normal as well - and I remember going into restaurants or shops at about that age - second class of high school in our system.