hey Shruti, it entirely depends on where you are sending your kid, how far it is from your place and how much trust you have in the entire family and not just in the child. i started sending my elder one after she turned 9 and that too only with some of my closest friends. they also stay very near, in fact some of them are in the same building, or a 10 minute walk away. these are families that we have known for more than a decade now and our kids have literally grown up together. so there is already a lot of trust and comfort level.