Kids and playing outside....

mummy2girls wrote: Do you let your kids play outside unattended? Jenna is almost 9 and the most I let her play is out in the fenced yard alone....but I am still sitting at the window watching her. Breanna is 2 and I always go outside with her. I'm curious because I see kids jennas age and younger running around the complex, and riding bikes with no adults... I remember when I was 8 and I was allowed to go the the playground alone, and roam the complex. When the street lights go on is our cue we have to come home....lol.. I miss those days and wish my kids are/were able to experience that.... Times have become very scary and uptight....

luvbug00 replied: At my house she can roam our neighborhood. which is really small, so i see her.
At my parents house she is all over the place. she has tons of friends there and so I never know exactly where she is until i text her. (but we grew up there and know everyone so it's not a big deal)
At her dads I dont like her going out. He lives in the slummy area where bad people run rampent. she stays indoors there unless there is an adult with.

MommyToAshley replied: I don't let Ashley play outside unless I am out, with the exception of playing in the fenced in back yard and even then I am watching from the house. I live in a decent neighborhood, lots of police and firemen live in my area, but that doesn't mean anything. Look at all the stories where people say that the person was a good neighbor and you never would have thought s/he was capable of such a thing. I don't hover, I do yardwork or something outside while she plays with her friends but she is always where I can see her. Unfortunately, girls their age seem to be the target... I just read an amber alert for an 11-year old girl. So scary! I miss those times where kids could play outside from sun up to sun down too, but I'd rather Ashley give up some of that freedom for her safety.

coasterqueen replied: I miss the "good old days" too. Stinks, really! I use to roam everywhere in the neighborhood, several blocks in all directions and you can home when it got dark or when you heard your mom hollering for you.

We live in the country so in all reality it SHOULD be safer and honestly almost everyone out here is family, but we do have a few people on our road that are not. I used to let them play everywhere, front and back, but then I heard rumors of a sexual predator roaming our area. Now I heard this from the family "grapevine" so it could be just that, rumors, but it got to me and now I let them play in the backyard unattended, but not in the front yard unless it's right up front and I will sit in kitchen and look out window and watch them (like do dishes or something). Sometimes if they want to play in front I'll mow out there so I keep an eye on them. When they are in back yard I'm usually almost always sitting in the living room to where I can peak from time to time out the window to see that they are out there. I don't know if they will ever get to roam our road unattended, especially riding bikes since people fly at 55 down these roads. Ryan says we should let them roam our acreage, the wooded parts (about 1.5 to 2 acres) but that leads down to the river and IMO anyone could be boating down the river and be freaks. I've always said our area out here, especially our land down by the river is a good place to dump a body, and even though that's never happened or known to have happened, it still gives me the creeps and I just am not ready for them to roam down there. Plus if the current is strong and they accidentally fall in..not good.

moped replied: I better not say what Jack can do ! LOL.....you guys would beat me!

mckayleesmom replied: I do let them go to the playground by our house. We live on post in the middle of the desert about 40 miles from civilization....or else I probably wouldn't.. I usually don't let them go by themselves...usually in a group of friends. There is kind of an unwritten rule at the park that whatever mom is there is kind of on duty..There is always at least 2 parents at the park. .Everybody looks out for each others kids....I usually take the evening shift when I walk Maci. They are not allowed to go into friends houses without that friends parents permission and a phone call from the parent.

Boo&BugsMom replied: Tanner is 9. Yes, he can be outside alone...either in the backyard or front yard. We live in the city, but it's not like NYC or anything where things are that busy. We live in your run of the mill city neighborhood suburb. Aiden (4) is not alone outside at all, but I do allow him to go outside and play with Tanner if we aren't outside with him. If Aiden is with Tanner I will allow them to go in front as long as they stay within a few houses. Tanner I will allow to ride his bike around the block a few times as long as I know what he's doing. Our blocks are pretty small.

Either way, even if we aren't outside with them, someone always has their eyes or ears open. If I can't see my kids, I can usually hear them.

When we visit the in-laws up north it's quite different. They live on 110 acres (yes, 110 acres) and roam everywhere on the property...to see the cows, play in the fields, etc. I can usually yell and they'll hear me, but up there it is quite safe. I never worry.

Honestly, I think it really depends on where someone lives. Up north WI is SO different compared to where we live. We don't live in an unsafe neighborhood, but it certainly isn't the same as when I was growing up (we live in the same city as I grew up in too).

stella6979 replied: Avery is 5 and the answer is no. We don't technically have a fenced backyard as it's not closed in. We just have the fences from the neighbors on the sides and back so it still makes me nervous to let her out alone. And not to knock what anyone here has said, but things can happen ANYWHERE! No matter how safe you think your neighborhood is, your city is, or whatever, things do happen. I read the news (probably way too much) and there have been many kids who turn up missing in "nice neighborhoods." Maybe I'm just a paranoid freak, but I don't care, I would just never be able to relax if she were to be outside by herself (even with friends). Of course, this is coming from the Mom who still has a video monitor in both my kids rooms. I'm not sure what age I'll let her start going out alone but I do know it won't be anytime soon.

MommyToAshley replied:
Well said. Ashely is 9 and I am still like this.

mummy2girls replied: I agree with Stella..... You just never know. That sweet neighbor could be not so sweet behind doors. Yesterday an amber alert was sent out of a missing 3 year old in British Columbia. He was put to bed at night and found missing in the am....makes you want to to lock and alarm every entrance to your home

grapfruit replied: Mine are 1 and 2, so I barely let them play in their room by themselves! Lol! Mostly bc they get into EVERYTHING! so of course they need somebody outside w them. If it were fenced in w a privacy fence (like we're planning), then I MIGHT let them play outside while I watch through the window. I'm more worried about Isabelle opening the front door and venturing outside. Freaks me out.

I was at my mom's the other day. She lives in a townhouse/apartment complex. Not really nice. All sorts of kids probably 3+ running around the parking lot. They were being super destructive, as some unattended, ignored kids get and I had to yell at them when a boy almost hit Liam w one of those ride on cars. He wasn't riding it, he was picking it up and spinning and throwing it wildly. *mad face*

CantWait replied: Yes, Anthony is allowed to go in our back yard or his friends, up our street a bit, he's allowed across the street to ride his bike, scooter, etc... because there is less traffic since it's a dead end street.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: Andrew is 6 and Allie is 4, and we've recently started letting them play out in our yard by themselves, but only if it's the kind of day when I can open all the windows downstairs so I can hear them no matter what side of the house they're on. We have a really little yard, so they're always within both sight and earshot. I also make sure I'm up doing something around the house and not reading or watching tv. If I'm cleaning and picking up I'm walking all over the downstairs anyways and it takes 2 steps to walk to the window to look out on them if I can't see them from where I'm standing. We have so many windows that usually I can see and hear them without even going to the window. Mostly they play in the sandbox, and that's right next to the house, on the side that has the most windows.

Allie isn't allowed to be out by herself though - if Andrew doesn't want to play outside then she either has to stay in or I go out with her. And like I said if I can't have the windows open then they can't go out without me.

karlaa replied: yes we do let them play outside but we always keep an eye on them..

childtocherish replied: Yes very difficult times for parents to make their small kids to play near the home,but kids mostly wants to play outside of their premises. Since sexual violence against small girls has really made parents to make their kids play on their on premises rather then allowing them to play in a park. That is why it is better to be cautious with small kids.