When did you let your kids play in front of the house alone

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Forum -> Parenting our children

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When did you let your kids play in front of the house alone

4 & under

[ 2 ]

16%

[ 8 ]

[ 3 ]

10%

[ 5 ]

[ 2 ]

14%

[ 7 ]

12%

[ 6 ]

11+

31%

[ 15 ]

Total Votes : 48

amother

Sun, Mar 23 2014, 1:56 pm

Spinoff from the other thread-
At what age were you comfortable with your kids playing in the front of the house on the sidewalk by themselves?

Ashrei

Sun, Mar 23 2014, 2:16 pm

my oldest is 6 and I live in brooklyn, and although it's CERTAINLY done, widespread, I just couldn't imagine a time when absolutely no supervision would be okay.... of course I'll keep re-assessing as they age I suppose...

yo'ma

Sun, Mar 23 2014, 2:50 pm

Never. I live on a busy street, traffic and pedestrians. Sad

Ruchel

Sun, Mar 23 2014, 2:51 pm

Where I grew up OOT, maybe 4 or 5?
Here, if it was a house, a few years more as it's a big street. I would really need to trust the kid to "be afraid" of cars and not take any risk.

FranticFrummie

Sun, Mar 23 2014, 9:11 pm

It depends oh your neighborhood, and what you consider "unsupervised". If the front door is open, and you're in the kitchen, does that count? What if you check on them every half hour, or 15 minutes, or every 3 hours? Are you on a dead end street? What about the maturity level of the kid, regardless of age? I know 5 year olds who wouldn't dare step off of the property, and 12 years olds who should be chained up in the back yard (only slightly kidding.)

mommy3b2c

Mon, Mar 24 2014, 8:45 am

My oldest is seven, and I till do not let him play outside himself. I dont even let anyone else watch them, it has to be me. Sometimes my landlord offers, but I am too nervous.

Cookie Monster

Mon, Mar 24 2014, 9:11 am

mommy2b2c wrote:

My oldest is seven, and I till do not let him play outside himself. I dont even let anyone else watch them, it has to be me. Sometimes my landlord offers, but I am too nervous.

Same here

Culturedpearls

Mon, Mar 24 2014, 9:12 am

Never

morah

Mon, Mar 24 2014, 9:39 am

Not up to this stage in life, but it really depends where you live. I would say 8 or 9 in the city, but if I were on a cul de sac in the suburbs with neighbors that all look out for each other, it would probably be 5 or 6.

ValleyMom

Wed, May 11 2016, 9:32 pm

I watch Criminal Minds so the short answer is NEVER.

Marion

Wed, May 11 2016, 11:54 pm

Really, really depends on where you live! At this point my kids all go out alone (10, 8.5, 6, almost 4), the younger two with the older two. There are about 20 other kids out there, most of the time, we know all our neighbours, the kids have all learned to watch for cars (we have private parking for the buildings and a park in that enclosed area) and they are not allowed to go where they can't be seen by *someone*. They mostly stay in the park anyway because they want to be able to run home to use the facilities or get a snack.

flowerpower

Wed, May 11 2016, 11:56 pm

Maybe at age 8?

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