At what age did you let your child out and about?

moomoomama27

My eldest started going out and about with friends at the weekend from about the age of 12. She walked to and from school with a group of friends from about 10/11 yrs old and would occasioally pop along to the local shop less than 5 mins away from about the same age.

I think I will follow suit with the other 2 from about 11+. I am generally shocked sometimes how young some children are when I see them out and about alone or with another child of similar age.

System

When my kids were growing up there was never a shortage of children in the road and they all stuck together in a little gang when they went anywhere. My two eldest were more like twins as there was only 14 months between the two of them and they always played together with the rest of the kids in the back of our garden.... it was safe enough. Come to have my youngest though he was the only child in the road as the other kids had grown up and he wasnt given the same freedom as my older children were. I have to say, i always walked them to and from school though.

gingin_2

We live in the city centre, so ds can safely access everything by foot. He's been allowed to go to specific, close shops from 10 and was allowed to venture out properly from 11.

balletshoes

Phil3822 wrote: »

Not the greatest title for this thread but what I want to know is at what age would/did you let your child out of the house by themselves? Like walking to school, local shop, friends house etc.

We live in a village and we often notice children in our sons class walking about by themselves or in small groups. The children are 8 or 9.

We do not and have not let our boy out and about by himself however it got me thinking about what age peoples children are before they begin to learn about being streetwise.

I agree that all kids are different. My DD has been happy to go round to the corner shop (2 streets away) on her own since she was 7. from the age of 8 at her school, the children can, if they wish to and have their parents okay, go to and leave school by themselves. My DD did that when she was 8 (it was a novelty for her . this involved a 10-15 minute walk, along 3 streets, having to cross the road twice on the way.

for playing out, my DD has been allowed out with the neighbourhood kids, either on the pavements in front of the houses, or in one of our back gardens, since she was about 5. even now, at the age of 10, the rule is "stay on our street" ie no roaming about other streets. especially just now, when its still dark fairly early.

*Louise*

moomoomama27 wrote: »

I think I will follow suit with the other 2 from about 11+. I am generally shocked sometimes how young some children are when I see them out and about alone or with another child of similar age.

Me too - I know a boy who has been allowed to wander the streets from the age of 3 stealing stuff from gardens :eek: We found him 2 streets away once with our pet rabbit in his arms and another time the police took him home when he climbed in through someone's kitchen window.

Phil3822

Thanks all for the comments. Our boy is aged 8, nearly 9. We were in Kenya last month and there you see 18/24 month toddlers walking /shuffling bout in the street with mad drivers and traffic. I am glad I am not the only one not quite comfortable with the idea however I do feel that maybe when he reaches year 5, age 9+ we will start some basic work in getting him more streetwise with little walks etc.

FBaby

my DD started walking on her own and with friends from the age of 11. I hated it whenn she first did and the first time she walked to school on her own, I was very anxious. Not because I had concerns, just because it is a tough transition to make.

My DS who goes to an after school club has asked if he could do an after school activity and walk to the club afterwards once a week. He has just turned 9. I was surprised he would ask because he is not as confident as his sister, however, he is extremely responsible and cautious. I agreed to it and will be doing it for the first time tomorrow. It is only about 10 minutes in a residential area, only three minor roads to cross. I am a bit nervous, again, not because I am concerned but because it is my baby being on his own, but I do find it easier second time around, even though he is younger.

I do agree that it is a good thing for children to be encouraged to be autonomous if they are happy to be so. It is a big step towards positive self-esteem.

bylromarha

Thanks for all making me feel better.

I used to walk alone to school aged 6 - lollipop lady crossed me over the main road and I did the rest alone. No mobile, other parents about for the 5/6 minute walk no doubt keeping an eye on the gang of us that met as we walked.

I recently started teaching again after a 7 year maternity break and at our Child Protection training I said I'd be happy to let my 6 yr old daughter and 7 year old son walk to school alone if we lived closer to it, within a couple of streets with no fast roads to walk next to - they've been being trained for independence since toddlerdom.

Other younger members of staff said that was bang out of order. More peedos being the reason. I think there aren't more, they're just more visible than they used to be when I was a kid - safer now if anything.

The head came over (50+ yrs old) and said any parent who insisted their child walked alone to school aged 6 would be reported to Social Services as it was mild neglect :eek: That won out in her mind over the independence training.

Kids are too molly cuddled these days for fear of what may happen. Today, my year 1 class were being told it was wet play as it was a light drizzle. Got my coat on and took them out myself - they loved it! They never get to play with their mates in the rain and had a ball out there. Came back a bit soggy, but glowing with life.:D

cutestkids

My 10 year old has been allowd to walk to / from school for around a year now usually with a group of friends who live in the same street but sometimes alone, the distance is about 1 mile.

He goes swimming and to the cinema with friends sometimes catching the bus but more often than not a parent will drop them off and another will pick them up.

He has had his own mobile for about 18 months not a flash one but it means that he is able to call me if he has any concerns.

I think it does depend on the child but you want to avoid holding him back too much as if he is the only one in his peer group that does not have some freedom then you may find that it causes him problems with his friends.

I think giving that little bit of responsibility is important but the child should understand that there are bounderies to the amount of freedom, for example my son knows not to dily daly when walking home from school and not to take any diversions or shortcuts.

elsien

Put it this way, when I was 10 I was travelling on my own from England to Italy by plane, and in the holidays we were out playing on our own well out of sight and going to the shops (group of 3 or 4 of us) from age 9 ish.
Having said that when my friend and I got a bit older we arrived home one day giggling that these 2 blokes had offered us a lift on the back of their motorbike. Being very naive we had absolutely no idea what was really being offered, at which point mum and dad decided that we maybe weren't as safe as they'd thought and our wandering privileges were withdrawn slightly until we were a bit more streetwise.