Parenting advice?

[abby]

Ok, at what age would/did you let your kid play outside (front yard) without adult supervision?

My dd is almost 7 and I think she is too young to be out front with a same aged friend (and said friends little sister who is 4) Those parents don't seem to have a problem with it, but they also let the two go up around to corner to visit other kids without supervision.

We live in a quite neighborhood, 2 blocks from a major park. Not a lot of traffic on our street but some.

Am I just over protective?

 

[LBAK]

By 7 my DD was playing in the front without me being outside. I'd look outside to check on her but by second grade I think they're OK playing outside in the front.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Am I just over protective?

No, I think you always have to go with your intuition.

It depends on a lot of factors - such as your neighborhood, the type of street you live on, the personality and maturity of your child, who else will be out there, etc. That's going to be different for everyone.

Only you can decide what's comfortable and right for you and your child. Go with your gut.

 

[Alyssa88]

We used to live right across from a playground. We moved there when I was 6 and my mother would let me go out and play on my own, she would watch from the house (which I didn't know- I always felt independent,lol).

My younger sister however was not allowed to go out and play on her own until she was much older. I had alot of common sense when I was younger, but my sister (as much as I love her) was the type of kid who would probably cross the street without looking, or get into the car with a stranger. I used to be very advanced intellectually (not anymore, I have moved towards the average) so I think that had a big part in my mothers decision.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

my parents didn't let me off of my porch by myself until i was 14, but my parents have a lot of screws loose.

 

[Hannathy]

Since you asked, yes I think you are being very overprotective. Mine have played in the yard front or back and even the kid up the streets yard since they were 4. My kids walked to school since kindergarten by themselves. My DS is 8 and he rides his bike around the block to his friends house. If they can't play in their own yard at 7 just when will they be able to? I think when they start school if they haven't been allowed before then they are definitely old enough.

 

[GJM]

I don't let my DS (7) play in the front by himself. Maybe it depends on where you live. He can play in the back yard by himself.

 

[bookgirl]

The twins are 7 and they still have to have an adult outside with them. At least out front. They do sometimes go in and out or front to back briefly but never more than a couple of minutes. I guess at 7 they still seem small enough to snatch up. We live in a decent neighborhood as do their mom and their dad (my brother also still requires they be supervised outside of his house the back is open no fences and has a creek, mom lets them out front somewhat and in the back which freaks out us since they have an unfenced pool) however I'm thinking it'll be another year or two before I let them loose in the front. In the back at my house they are left to their own devices with us checking them out through the windows.

 

[momrek06]

When my DS' were young we lived in a lovely sub-division. Very quiet. Nice neighborhood. BUT I had a rule, DS' had to be 5yo to leave the yard...(which meant going next door with the rest of all the kids)!!

My youngest DS (now 21yo) and (before he was 5yo) used to test me so much. He would go outside and play in the yard and actually STAND on the property line and look back at the house to see if I was looking....

I would have my eye on him and open the front door and nicely call to him..."do you want to come back inside"....

But I will say by 5yo he was attending school, walking one house away to the bus stop so that is why 5yo was the age in my house. Of course older DS is 24yo now and younger is 21yo, so maybe times have changed!

 

[NAB]

My dd is 6 and she is only outside when there is a group of kids playing between three or four houses. She always asks first if she is going into one of there backyards. The kids range in ages though her brother is 9 and most of the other kids are her age or younger. Mind you if one goes in they all go in. By now she knows not to go on the road and is usually playing dolls or chalk etc.

If she wants to play and she is by herself she has to go in the fenced back yard.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

Since you asked, yes I think you are being very overprotective. Mine have played in the yard front or back and even the kid up the streets yard since they were 4. My kids walked to school since kindergarten by themselves. My DS is 8 and he rides his bike around the block to his friends house. If they can't play in their own yard at 7 just when will they be able to? I think when they start school if they haven't been allowed before then they are definitely old enough.

This has been the case with my children as well. However, it really does depend on the neighborhood and other factors as well. We live on a cul-de-sac now,and my kids are 4, 5 and 11. There are at least 6 other kids around the same age and they all play together from time to time. We set limits, such as they can't go past the mailboxes, and so on. I check on them from time to time, and it works really well for us.

 

[mickeyboat]

My girls are 6 and 7, and they have been going out by themselves for a couple of years. I don't like them in the front yard, because or house is close to the road, and I worry that a car will hit them, but they have free reign in the side yard, the back yard, and the field behind our house.

I prefer they play together, though, and don't like it when only one is outside by themselves. We also have lots of windows in our house, and I can see them out there from almost every room in the house. They like to think they are out there by themselves, but the don't know that I am watching them qutie often from inside. I check on them often, and have taught them what to do is approached by a stranger (hopefully they will remember it).

 

[mookie]

Our dd is 4, and we just started letting her do this. Granted, the kids that she plays with all range in age from 5-7(ish) and there are a bunch of them! We live right next door to a small neighborhood park, so we basically know everyone that goes over there, as they live in the neighborhood, as well. I am able to see the park from many of my side windows, so I am watching her constantly, but yet still giving her a bit of independence. (In fact, our one dog also watches her from the window, and if anyone new comes to the park, she barks...great alarm system!)

She is a very good kid, and always follows directions, is responsible, etc. She knows that the park is the ONLY place she is allowed to go. I am kind of the "neighborhood watchdog though...I have several neighborhood moms that will send their kids to the park in the summer and I usually just keep an eye on all of them from my house.

I still feel better when she is playing in our fenced in backyard, though.

 

[Aidensmom]

Our house is on a corner of a quiet residential street and a semi-busy street. Our "backyard" is actually on the side of the house where the semi-busy street is. We do not allow our 5 year old to play outside at all without supervision, though often we are actually on the screened porch and not in the yard with him.

Other children on our street are often playing outside unsupervised, but the youngest I see out without an older sibling are about 7 or 8.

 

[mrsv98]

DD (almost 7) is allowed out front with the other kids as long as I can see her. I keep the garage door open and check on her often. If the weather is nice I will just take my chair out in the driveway and read my book while they play.

 

[Nicolepa]

My kids ar 4 & 6 and they are allowed in the backyard unsupervised but out front no way. We have at least 30 kids on our street. It is a pretty quiet street and everyone knows everyone. None of them have been allowed out w/o an adult until they were like 9 or so. The youngest I can think of was 8.

Usually the parents are outside chatting and such while the kids play. But there are times when it's one parent out reading or gardening etc, and 10-15 kids playing.

 

[rt2dz]

No, I think you always have to go with your intuition.

It depends on a lot of factors - such as your neighborhood, the type of street you live on, the personality and maturity of your child, who else will be out there, etc. That's going to be different for everyone.

Only you can decide what's comfortable and right for you and your child. Go with your gut.

Couldn't say it any better

 

[CEDmom]

My DD is 7 and we started letting her play outside without one of us there last year. She's only allowed in the front or back yard. I'm always looking out and checking on her so it really isn't a big deal. Luckily she's very responsible and doesn't wander off. She likes to play in the front because we have a big driveway for chalk.

BTW, I take my DD (2nd grader) to the bus stop each morning and pick her up there even though it's only a block away and she could walk with other children. I'm on the overprotective side myself.

 

[MareQ]

My kids are 9, 6 and 3- nope - not allowed to play outside unsupervised yet - but - I live on a 4 acre wooded, non fenced in lot and beyond our property line is a huge undeveloped wooded area - probably hundreds of acres. Wouldn't take much for them to wander off and get lost - not to mention the bears.... Plus my oldest is Special Needs - it will be YEARS before I'll let them outside by themselves

Don't care much if people think I am overprotective either..

 

[horseshowmom]

I don't let my DS (7) play in the front by himself. Maybe it depends on where you live. He can play in the back yard by himself.

I also had my DD play in the backyard at that age. We're out in the country in a nice rural neighborhood, but I know things can happen quickly (for example, the 13 year old boy who was taken from his bus stop in FL recently), so I always had her play in the backyard.

Just as an aside, DH and I were taking a nap one afternoon when DD was about 7. She was playing in the house (wasn't allowed outside to play while we were taking a nap). When I woke up, I couldn't find her. After some fast searching, I found her outside in the front yard with a table set up with a sign that said "Toys for Sale".

When I asked her what she was doing playing outside while we were asleep (and particularly in the front yard), she assured me quite sincerely that she wasn't "playing", she was having a toy sale.

After almost having a stroke (and thinking about all the things that could have happened), we discussed with her that she wasn't to go outside when we were asleep no matter what she was doing!