S/O: Do the kids in your neighbourhood play outside unsupervised?

[Magpie]

I've noticed some people saying that these days children don't get to play outside; that they have to be chaperoned and supervised everywhere they go.

Is this true in your neighbourhood?

It WAS true, when I was a child in Trenton in the '70's. I wasn't allowed outside at all. But that was because we lived in a rough neighbourhood. I remember hearing gunshots at night, and seeing my mum call 911, several times. I had to do floor exercises each day, because I was so inactive I'd developed a swayback.

But when we moved to Canada, my mum was all, "Go! Be free!" and I would spend hours down at the river, all by myself. And when my own kids came along (late 90's), they would run up and down the street with a pack of friends all day, unsupervised. Come evening, we'd have parents peering into backyards and knocking on doors, trying to locate their kids.

And now I can look outside and see the neighbourhood children still doing that, playing in driveways and on the sidewalk.

Kids roam fairly freely in my town. How about yours?

Edited to add: I'm talking mainly about kids in the 8-12 age range, though I do see younger ones out with siblings or playing in their own driveways.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Yes children are outside all of the time. Unsupervised. They play, run, yell, climb trees. It's one of the reasons we chose to live here.

Kids Roam freely in my town. You see them all the time everywhere.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We don't live in a town, but the neighbor kids are outside unsupervised as far as I can tell (our houses aren't that close). DD11 goes outside alone as well and has for awhile now.

 

[anniemae]

In neighboring yards, yes. If one kid is out, they are usually quickly joined by more. They go in each other's yards. Not too far since we live near a busy street. they are usually in view.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Some of the kids in my neighborhood are oversupervised and some under. It really depends on the house.

My only rule with DS has been that he needs to take his cell phone, it needs to be on, and we need to call/text every 2 hours.

 

[aprilgail]

don't know what age kids you are speaking of but I see Jr High aged kids around but grades K-5 not so much, and they never just roam around to someone elses house, the always call first to see if they are free- you don't just show up at someones house unannounced.

 

[wenrob]

Our last neighborhood all the parents would go out because people used our street as a short cut and come barreling down the street. My husband called it being a "human speed bump." The Dads would usually saunter into the middle of the street and plant themselves when they heard cars coming. This neighborhood, all the streets are cul de sacs and that's where all the kids end up. We usually have the garage open but other than that they're on their own.

eta: my kids are allowed to be in other neighbor kids driveways or front yards but if they want to go in backyards they have to come ask permission so we know where they are.

 

[Magpie]

don't know what age kids you are speaking of but I see Jr High aged kids around but grades K-5 not so much, and they never just roam around to someone elses house, the always call first to see if they are free- you don't just show up at someones house unannounced.

I was speaking of elementary aged kids - the ones I see out and about are in the 8 - 12 age range. Sometimes younger if they're with siblings, or in their own front yards.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

don't know what age kids you are speaking of but I see Jr High aged kids around but grades K-5 not so much, and they never just roam around to someone elses house, the always call first to see if they are free- you don't just show up at someones house unannounced.

We don't know anyone's phone number. My kids just knock on their door and ask if they can come outside. I can't imagine my 10 year old having to call her friend first. They're 10.

 

[dotfurio]

I voted it's not a big deal in my town, but it's probably about 50-50 if I see a parent or not. I'll let my yougest play out in our front yard, but I'll keep the window or door open and check on her. Not as much if she has friends with her. If she's riding bikes there's an adult out front, either one of us or the neighbor kid's parent.

 

[kimblebee]

Yep, the next door neighbours kids play outside all summer long. I think the parents get sick of them and send them out because they are SO loud. Even at 7.30 AM they're out there screaming up and down the sidewalk.

Thankfully it's still too snowy for outdoor play.

 

[Tattylou]

My kids are 6 and 8. They play in my yard and our nextdoor neighbor's fenced in backyards "unsupervised" (I can see them from my window and I open it a crack to hear them). The neighbors are 6 and 10. Sometimes they will walk a few houses up the street to get other boys from the neighborhood, but I only let them go if they all go together and if they tell me and come right back. So they are "unsupervised" and outside, but they don't venture far and stay pretty much between my yard and the one next door.

 

[LilyWDW]

Normally it's not a big deal and the kids are out playing. However, there is a nationwide manhunt for the murderer of 2 teenage girls somewhat near to here. I have noticed a lot less "unsupervised" play since it happened and have heard parents talking about it.

 

[scrhsa]

We live a couple of blocks from the bay with some fishing piers. It also has a small park with a swimming pool close by. All during the summer you see older kids riding their bikes to the pool and to the pier with their fishing poles. The little ones are usually in front yards playing. We are getting less and less kids as the years go by though. It is a VERY small town, think more like a neighborhood. Most people are moving out to the next closest town which is about 5 miles away.

 

[powellrj]

My kids are grown and ran the neighborhood. Now I don't know any of the kids and I miss the activities. I see all of them out and about without parents all the time.

Not sure if it's national news, but two Indiana girls were murdered last month, which makes me wonder if the kids won't have as much freedom as they did before. If I still had young kids I would think twice before I let them run the neighborhood.

 

[jevs]

I picked other as live rural so not in the suburbs.

My kids have been riding their bikes off property and down the road for a couple of years (now 13, 11, 11). Only rule is not to go on the highway or near the river. They also go into bushland but have to remain within shouting distance as it is a little isolated. Sometimes other kids join them but not too many younger kids live down this way at the moment.

 

[Mirielle]

No kids in my neighborhood any more. Some of us in this neighborhood played here ourselves as kids, however. From what I hear, most kids in this town phone and arrange play dates, but even then, they don't go outside.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Yes all the time. I do think there are less kids playing outside during the summer in the day but that has to do with them being in daycare/camps. More 2 parent working families and single parent families make daycare required more than was common in the 1980s. Plus there are laws now making it illegal for children under the age of 10 to be left home alone all day.

My kids were in daycare when they were little and by evening were too played out to be outside much. Meanwhile i had been at a desk all day and wanted to be outside with them! But if they had been at the zoo or playing water games outside all day with a ton other kids all they wanted to do was have a quiet, cool, indoors evening.

 

[MSPeeler]

No, our kids (8, 10 & 2) are not allowed outside the backyard (it's a LARGE yard) without supervision. Personal preference, I do not approve of the neighborhood kids behavior in my area. My kids play together well and have friends from church/school over periodically. We have plenty to do in our own yard, LOL

 

[tvguy]

9 year old next door, yes, he is out shooting baskets almost every night, at 730 pm, alone, in the dark. Sometimes I notice it, the bouncing ball......and the thud of the ball hitting the backstop...... only because DW and I got to bed at 7 pm. I'm usually so tired that it doesn't disrupt my sleep.
His brother is only 1, so no. 2 kids at the end of the street always seem to be out with a parent.

We've been in our house 34 years, and the demographics on our street have cycled as far as kids on the block. We had 40 kids on the street 30 years ago........then it fell......and went back up about 15 years ago as those kids-kids came to spent time with their grandparents on the street........now there are literally 4 children under age 18 on the street.