Follow up to...do you just let your kids go

[Karen]

On a slightly different slant, I am wondering about whether you let your kids bike/walk/rollerblade to the store, park, etc with friends when they are a little older? And how old? We moved from California where we would NEVER let a kid out of our site, to ND which seems pretty safe. I see kids (about 8 or 9 yr old, I guess) biking to the park. But I just don't know when I would be comfortable with that. We heard such awful stories in CA (and actually, up in MN also)...What do you think?

[KarlaB]

Good question. My dks are still too young for this to apply to me, but I would like to hear how others handle it with their dks - my day of dealing with it will be here someday, too and I know it'll make me nervous. When I was growing up it never seemed to be that big of an issue. We rode bikes and walked all over with our friends. I can't remember at what age we started, but I do remember walking home from elementary school. Now I think I would be nervous to send my dks off alone to school or the store. There have been a few incidents in MN that have hit nat'l news and they weren't even in big towns! :(

[angie r]

This question does not apply to me yet either. I don't let my 5 yo go next door without watching him all the way in and wave to my neighbor. I do remember when I was 10, my younger brother was 6, we would ride our bikes miles across busy intersections to go to the store. I would never let my kids do that. Yikes!!

[kat]

We live about 5 miles out of town on a fairly heavily traveled scenic highway, so, no my kids never biked to the store. Oldest would go to the lake on his bike (which is just behind the neighbors - can't see it from our house). He was already 15 at the time. Youngest who is 12 rides his bike in the subdivision, but only when his cousin goes with him. I guess I've never really been faced with that.
I remember as a child though, walking a mile to school, to the store, to the dairy queen, etc. and my parents never giving it a second thought. I did alot of things as a child though that I would not let my own do today. When I was growing up, fewer mothers worked outside the home and the neighborhood had more "eyes". Today so many kids are "latch key" kids and the neighborhoods just don't have as many adults looking out for their safety.

[arianna]

MM! I don't ever leave my kids alone here. When I went into the hospital a few times here, I told HH not to bother to visit me as I didn't want him to leave the boys with my MIL. They're either with me or HH. It's a little loco at times but.....lol

There is a tiny little colmado across the street, I allow my 8yo to go there and back while I help him cross the street. I can see the store from my front porch and know all my neighbors and the store owners.

I go to EVERY activity they participate in (Birthday parties included) and volunteer my time to be sure they are safe.

Maybe I am over protective, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

ßß!

[Diane]

Originally posted by arianna
MM! I don't ever leave my kids alone here. When I went into the hospital a few times here, I told HH not to bother to visit me as I didn't want him to leave the boys with my MIL. They're either with me or HH. It's a little loco at times but.....lol

There is a tiny little colmado across the street, I allow my 8yo to go there and back while I help him cross the street. I can see the store from my front porch and know all my neighbors and the store owners.

I go to EVERY activity they participate in (Birthday parties included) and volunteer my time to be sure they are safe.

Maybe I am over protective, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

ßß!

You and I seem to be a lot alike when it comes to watching over our children... When mine were younger, besides when they were in school... they were NEVER out of my site. I'd never leave them anywhere alone... except when my youngest was in dance class but I was always right outside of her classroom waiting for her in the hallway, so when she came out... I was right there to retreive her. LOL I was always so shocked at how many parents would just drive up and dump their kids off at the door and leave... and then they couldn't even manage to be there on time to pick them up... and these poor kids would be left standing alone waiting. One time we stayed and waited with a little girl from my dd's classroom for almost 15 minutes before her mother finally showed up to pick her up. If we hadn't stayed with her she would have been left standing there all by herself... and this girl was only about 9 or 10 at the time. Ugh!!! I kept thinking how anybody could have driven up and forced her into their car. Nobody would have been there to help her. The mother didn't seem the least bit embarrassed when she finally drove up... like it was no big deal. I figured it must have been a normal occurrence for her. Gotta wonder!

Diane... :wave: