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

[brooke789]

We have a park right down the street from our house (we don't walk actually b/c theres no sidewalks and the road is only wide enough for one car comfortably (i.e. you're at risk walking right on the road!). In good weather, I'd say every other day we'll see a group of kids walking (alone) to the park.

My oldest are 6. They're allowed to play in our backyard (and with the 3 year old if one is watching him) alone. If they're out there I'm usually in the kitchen working on dinner, lunch boxes, etc and watching out the window. They're not allowed to roam at all.

On weekends if we're out playing the one neighbor kid might be out and they're free to play in her yard or her in ours, but we're likely outside also.

 

[Vijoge]

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.

There are only two kids on our block. I have never seen them out without a parent. Actually, I've only seen them getting in and out of the car. I don't know if they play outside at all. Maybe in their back yard, but I don't know.

 

[rlk]

We live in a large city. My kids were supervised in park playgrounds for a long time. We bought a weekend house in the country when they were 5 & 6 years old. It took them several weeks before they were comfortable playing in our yard without me standing out there with them.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

What comes to my mind is a new neighbor's 2 year old. She let her go outside alone. The girl wandered off. Another neighbor found the little girl across a busy street. She came door to door asking if anyone knew the child. I didn't since they were new but found out that the little girl actually lives across the street from me and because she was new she didn't recognize her own home. The police were called. The little girl taken to her home. Police read mom the riot act. Since then, the girl is always out with zero parental supervision.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

There aren't a whole lot of kids around us, but yes, my kids and they're two friends are outside unsupervised often. They have to stay around our houses though.

 

[bethbuchall]

Our neighborhood (at least in our immediate area) has grown old. Our short street has children in only a couple of houses. There are 4 kids next door. The boy is a sophomore in high school. I rarely see him out except when he's doing yard work. The two girls are probably 7 and 12 and go out to play in their backyard when the weather is nice. Mom is out with them sometimes, but usually they can play on their own. The little guy is about 18 months, so he's always with a parent.

When my kids were younger, there were more kids around their ages. We have an elementary school just up the hill with a playground, so they used to go up there or out to ride bikes. We don't have sidewalks, but the roads are fairly quiet. In the winter, they'd go out sledding by themselves, too, though sometimes the parents would want to join in the fun. I think kids still gather on the playground when the weather is nicer, but I can't tell for sure from here.

 

[aprilchem]

Yes - kids play unsupervised all over our town. If the weather is nice, my kids are outside most of the day in the spring, summer, and fall, and there are usually neighborhood kids playing with them as well. Our town is very walkable, too - my boys take our red wagon to the grocery store for me every Saturday morning and pick up groceries, and they can walk to the public library, the post office, a bakery, and multiple other stores as well. It's part of the reason we chose to live where we do.

 

[aprilgail]

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.

That is how it was 25 years ago but not anymore, We have never had a kid knock on the door with out calling first and we would never just go knock on someones door. In the summer there are even less kids around, most go to summer camp all day- I used to drop my daughter off at camp at 730 and I was free to pick her up at 4 but she always asked to stay until 6 because all of her friends there stayed until 6.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

We know phone numbers just so us moms can text things like:
"Send them over for lunch"
"Are you cool with them watching_______?"
"Are the twins there? They haven't been by begging for snacks in a while."

 

[Magpie]

That is how it was 25 years ago but not anymore, We have never had a kid knock on the door with out calling first and we would never just go knock on someones door. In the summer there are even less kids around, most go to summer camp all day- I used to drop my daughter off at camp at 730 and I was free to pick her up at 4 but she always asked to stay until 6 because all of her friends there stayed until 6.

Based on the responses here, though, it's possible the pendulum in your neighbourhood might someday swing back to where it was 25 years ago. So there's always hope!

Ten years ago, I certainly didn't have anyone's phone numbers, and kids knocked on our door without calling first. I don't see any signs that things have changed. Heck, some of my students just walk right into my house, without even ringing.

 

[Hikergirl]

Kids are always outside in my subdivision. Kids just show up at other kids houses here. My ds has kids here looking for him all the time, I don't even know their names let alone their phone numbers LOL

 

[mi*vida*loca]

That is how it was 25 years ago but not anymore, We have never had a kid knock on the door with out calling first and we would never just go knock on someones door. In the summer there are even less kids around, most go to summer camp all day- I used to drop my daughter off at camp at 730 and I was free to pick her up at 4 but she always asked to stay until 6 because all of her friends there stayed until 6.

Well that's crazy to me. I have a kid knock on my door about 3-5 times a week. It isn't something of the past.

 

[North of Mouse]

Our children are grown, but there's kids outside here most all the time. We are in a fairly rural subdivision with some culdesacs and they run freely there - relatively protected areas.

Personally, would not have felt comfortable letting my children go for a few blocks 'anywhere' by themselves, then, or now. A few houses away on our dead end street was the most they were allowed to ride their bikes/play.

 

[dish rag]

Well that's crazy to me. I have a kid knock on my door about 3-5 times a week. It isn't something of the past.

I think it is in many locations maybe not where you are. I raised 3 very active children and I don't ever recall having a child knock on the door. My SO has raised 2 in another country than mine and has said the same.

 

[CandleontheWater]

We live in a neighborhood full of kids, and they are always outside playing. Most of the time kids end up in our backyard because we have a large playset, but I'm fine with my 7 year old heading down the street to a friends house. I try to encourage kids to come here, because I don't think my 4 year old is mature enough to roam free yet, but in a year or two I won't have a problem with it. They mostly play in the backyards, so I will check on them every once in a while, but I'm not going to sit out there and watch them. The only time I will actively watch is when they are bike riding up and down our sidewalks, because I'm nervous about kids and bikes and cars. I had a friend hit by a car and killed while riding her bike around our neighborhood when we were kids, so that has always been my trigger. If I hadn't had that experience I probably wouldn't be so neurotic about bikes, most other parents are fine with just letting the kids ride around.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I voted “Yes, kids playing outside is not a big deal in my town.” – but I would really say “in my neighborhood,” because it’s definitely not town-wide. There are many busier streets where I never see kids out.

My neighborhood is a time-warp, though. There were always kids to play with when DS was little. I’d say most of them got the run of the cul-de-sac around 2nd grade, and progressed in stages from there to more freedom in how far they could go.

Like some other posters have mentioned, it's one of the reasons we bought here. I actually remember when we looked at the house, waving to a group of kids and asking if they liked the neighborhood and their school. What impressed me the most was that they weren't afraid to answer me!

 

[Klayfish]

We live in a stereotypical suburban subdivision community. There are kids all over the place, unsupervised. We get knocks on our door all the time. Frankly, half the time I'm not even sure exactly where our kids are, because they tend to go from one house to another, or sometimes go back into the woods. I'm not implying that we let them just come and go whenever they want at all hours of the night, but when it's typical "play time", they go out and about...we have an idea of where they are but don't necessarily know specifically. There are kids ages 7 and up roaming around unsupervised and I have no issue with it. The only ones that bother me are when the little...and I mean 3 or 4 year old...siblings come out and are unsupervised. We have a neighbor up the street...their older son is friends with DS9. He has a little brother who is about 2 or 3. I've seen him many times just playing out in the street. Parents are "outside", but paying no attention whatsoever because the kid is 6 houses away and in the road (we live in a cul de sac).

 

[wenrob]

We live in a stereotypical suburban subdivision community. There are kids all over the place, unsupervised. We get knocks on our door all the time. Frankly, half the time I'm not even sure exactly where our kids are, because they tend to go from one house to another, or sometimes go back into the woods. I'm not implying that we let them just come and go whenever they want at all hours of the night, but when it's typical "play time", they go out and about...we have an idea of where they are but don't necessarily know specifically. There are kids ages 7 and up roaming around unsupervised and I have no issue with it. The only ones that bother me are when the little...and I mean 3 or 4 year old...siblings come out and are unsupervised. We have a neighbor up the street...their older son is friends with DS9. He has a little brother who is about 2 or 3. I've seen him many times just playing out in the street. Parents are "outside", but paying no attention whatsoever because the kid is 6 houses away and in the road (we live in a cul de sac).

We have this tiny little boy who knocks on our door quite often wanting to play with my kids. He's 4 maybe? Young enough that he doesn't understand that they can't come out the second they get home from school because of homework etc. I get the impression that his mom is depending on my kids to watch him.

 

[ronandannette]

I live in an older, mid-town neighbourhood that has evolved over time to be an area with very few young families, which is a shame because there are 4 schools with nice playground equipment and a big park within a few-block radius. There are virtually never any kids around after school hours (kids are all bussed in) except for evening and weekend games at the soccer fields.

In general though, there's no reason kids couldn't play alone around here. We lived elsewhere when my DS was "play outside age"; a much more suburban neighbourhood. I had no qualms at all about letting him play out.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Kids definitely still knock on doors instead of calling.

I mean... Randon kids aren't knocking on my door but my kids' friends know that after school, or after 10:30am on the weekends they're more than welcome to come looking for the twins. And my kids do the same at their friends' homes.

Just because they knock doesn't mean they can always play but I don't mind, and neither do the other parents.

It would annoy the crap out of me if my phone was going off everyday with calls or texts asking to play, sometimes multiple times a day(yes they play almost everyday). I prefer the knocking.