Influencer Defends Letting 14-Year-Old Daughter Travel Out of State Alone for a Concert

A mother is going viral for defending her parenting style, which includes allowing her teen to travel out of state alone. 

In a video posted to TikTok this week by a user named Kat Clark, she explained why she had no issue with letting her 14-year-old daughter go out of town by herself for a concert — plus why other parents may find her methods useful. 

“If you’re too strict, your kids are just gonna learn how to hide things from you,” Clark said while applying cream to her face as soon as the video began.

Her post, which has garnered more than 2 million views as of Tuesday, Sept. 2, was in response to backlash over a clip explaining why she let Deja leave a recent family trip in San Diego to meet up with friends in Dallas. 

“You need to remember that she’s only 14,” a commenter said of Clark’s initial post. 

For her video response, the influencer, who has more than 7 million followers on the app, admitted that “a lot of people have made it clear that they don’t like my style of parenting.”

She went on to explain that Deja took “her first solo flight to another state to attend a concert with her friends.”

After noting that her child will be 15 soon, Clark reflected on how she behaved as a teen, adding that she and her daughter are “not the same.”

“If you guys only knew what I did at 14, 15, 16 — I mean, I was pregnant at 16,” she said while applying her makeup. “I’m just glad that TikTok didn’t exist back then because I would be canceled in five seconds.”

Clark compared her childhood, calling her own parents “really strict,” adding that opening up to her parents was always “the last thing” she wanted to do.

“But I really didn’t want that for my kids,” she continued, stressing the fact that her family isn’t without rules. 

“When I was a teen, I ran away from home, several times. And my parents had no idea where I was,” Clark said, laughing at the thought. “Deja went away, I knew where she was all the time.”

She added that she “knew the parents” and had their contact.

“My opinion? Having a child that feels comfortable enough to ask me to wanna go instead of hiding things from me? That’s the kind of relationship I want with my kid,” Clark concluded. 

She previously asked, “Do you know how many kids fly without their parents? A lot. So much that the airline has a ticket you can buy called “unaccompanied minor.” Additionally, she showed her husband walking with Deja to her gate and said the friend’s parent had to show ID to get her from the Dallas airport. 

Though her initial video may have caused a divide, her explainers received support. 

“When I’m going to be a mom, [you’re] my inspiration,” one person wrote. Another added, “i took solo flight at 7.”