I'll admit it, I am very protective of my kids. Not only that, but I am a worrier. When my kids are closeby and under my watch, I don't worry so much. For this reason, I encourage my kids to invite friends to play at our house. I have a fenced backyard so they can play to their hearts content in the backyard where I can frequently glance outside and check on them. However, it is playing in the front yard that raises the question I have today. Before I delve in farther, here is the question:
At what age are kids able to play outside with limited supervision?
My kids are 6 (next week), 4, and 11 months. In my opinion none of them are old enough to play in the front yard and around the neighborhood if I am not out there watching. However, I am starting to feel better about my two oldest playing with chalk in the driveway while I am in the house, but I still go out and check on them often. I am also allowing them to ride to the end of the street without me, as long as I am watching them the whole time.
Now, I know that things have changed a lot since I was a kid, but I remember being quite young playing outside with friends without my mom sitting on the porch. Granted, I am the youngest of four and my older siblings were usually keeping an eye on me. Today, I live in a small town on a fairly quiet street; but, as I said before, I am a worrier. I worry about my kids being kidnapped. I worry about them crossing the street without looking both ways. I worry about them getting hurt without me being right there to help them. I worry about them riding their bikes on the sidewalk, and someone not looking behind their car before they back out of their driveways. I worry. I worry. So, I guess I just either need reassurance that my worries are normal and justified, or I need someone to tell me that I need to cut a few apron strings and let my kids be kids, or do I just need to find a happy medium.
So, vast readership, what are your thoughts on this question. I'd love some feedback.
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2 comments:
My oldest (5 1/2) has only ever played in the front yard. Our backyard has had so many hornets that she is petrified to play back there. I open the front door and the garage door so that I can see, hear and call to them often. They have boundaries that they can't go past the white fence to the west and the black mailbox to the east. But I have also found that she doesn't want to go to far from home. She is allowed, after many practice rounds, to walk to her cousins house 2 block away by herself. My 2 year old...stays in the house! She would be gone faster than I could catch her! I think you are valid in your worries. Times are different than they were when we were kids...sad!
I think I'd let a six year old play in the front yard while I was in the house. But, I live in the country with a big yard and big windows facing the yard. So, they'd still be supervised. In my last house with a tiny yard on a busy street, I'd be much much less likely to give them freedom. I'm not too worried about kidnapping - it's extremely rare that a child is kidnapped by someone they don't know, and we don't have any custody issues. I am concerned about them wandering away, getting hit by a car, or being a pest to the neighbors. (None of these are really concerns here, but they could easily be elsewhere.) I think it depends so much on your location and on your kid. Then again, my son is one. Who knows what I'll think when he's six!
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