6yr old playing out alone

Alone? No. Not ok. I live extremely rurally on a large property, no people anywhere nearby, and a trained dog out with my dc, and I still don’t allow them to go out of eyeshot of the house alone. In a group with a walkie talkie, yes, but not by themselves at that age.

When I was 6 I was living in the mountains with my grandparents and going off for walks by myself for an hour by myself and wandering all over the mountainside, on and off the trails.
My grandparents didn’t bat an eyelash.
That was decades ago.
I can’t imagine people thinking that would be normal today or trusting that their children wouldn’t get lost or harmed or kidnapped or something.
I did it every day.

Need more context to the area they were playing, where I live there are houses and apartments all in a square around a park and parents can see children playing from the windows. So seeing young children playing is common.
But it really does depend on the surroundings

Are they alone or with other kids?
Small kids play outside here, but with other children, siblings etc… They know not to leave the estate. It’s near a busy road.

@Didimum oh, ok, if you don't know the family, it may seem strange yes.
@Oriunda I get what you say, but the truth is there are in fact genuinely friendly and protective adults and children should know that they can reach out to them.
But I don't know what OP should do, tbh.

Sorry to jump on this post but I’ve had similar thoughts about a kid in the park near me. He plays with my son. He is in Year 4 and says he is 9 so must have just turned 9. He is there most days and always on his own. This feels borderline. He does look small. Same height as my 7 year old so maybe I just think he looks too young to be playing in the park on his own but maybe 9 is ok? Or is it?

I would be very surprised to see a 6 year old out by himself. That being said I played in the forest by myself at 6.. but I would be concerned for his safety and I would probably walk him home and speak to his parents. "I found little Jonny out in the park, he said he was allowed to be there on his own but I just wanted to check with you since there have been reports about pedophiles out and about and you never know". With a big, friendly smile so they don't feel accused. Maybe you can shame them in to being responsible parents. If I'd see him again I would definitely tell school !

It wouldn't worry me where I live, it only worried me when I was at the beach with my own 6 year old and a little girl who is around the same age (possibly still 5, she looks tiny but I know she can't be younger than that because she's in his class) came by herself to the beach, because of the water aspect, although she didn't swim (but did paddle).

But in the UK its not generally the norm for 6 year olds to play out alone, and especially alone without friends or siblings, so it doesn't feel the same.

The trouble is, by doing this, and the child engaging with you, it’s then normalising the child being approached by friendly strangers …. who may not actually have friendly intentions.

OP, this is absolutely a report situation. Don’t approach the family. Apart from making it impossible for you to report (they’ll know it’s you), any potential abuse then gets hidden away even more.

Here's me worrying about my 6 year old playing in the (secure, gated, on a small cul-de-sac) front garden by herself...

Of course, @Didimum ! As I'm telling you all this, I too doubt about what would I do... If something bothers you, it probably means something? Maybe you could gather more information. I'd be reluctant to talk to the school, but maybe approach his family? Sometimes going around family can make them feel defensive and if there's a situation of abuse/neglect going on, it's better to cultivate a relationship than to be confrontational, in order to help the child.

@Didimum Oh, I see... Then I personally would approach him, to check if he's fine. I'd ask him if his parents know where he is and maybe even advise him, like any friendly neighbour would, to be careful with strangers, etc.
Being from a small town myself, everybody did this and children were always in sight of neighbours and protective adults in general.

Please report it

It's negligence.

I used to be allowed to call for friends/to the park alone when I was 6, but that was the 90's, and we all loved on a suburban estate that looped round in a circle (park was on the other side of the circle from mine)

I wouldn't allow this for my own kid though and by modern standards I think it's worrying.

If I knew him I might ask him if his parents know where he is.

This would be quite normal in a lot of places outside the UK.

Definitely report to the school, the child is far too young to be alone for that length of time.

Insanely dangerous! It makes me feel anxious to even imagine it!

Yes I would report this.

I'm going to disagree with the pps, because I personally don't find the act itself (playing by him/herself in a park near home) is dangerous for a 6yo. However, context is important here: if you know the child and feel something is off, that's probably because you've seen other things that didn't feel right. Is that so?