Children out without an adult?

[cheleuh]

I feel very conflicted on what age is appropriate to let my children go out without adult supervision and play with their neighbourhood friends or even just together at the park. Even more so because we live on a busy road and they will have to cross it to get to the playground. What are your thoughts?

bump.

How far away is the park? How sensible are your children? Are they likely to be easily lead astray?
Can you rely on them to follow instructions and stick to rules and boundaries you have set?
What kind of neighbourhood is it?
Is it a proper road crossing?
I guess I started to let mine walk out in our village together when they were about 10? They didn’t really have any reason to go out an about alone before that.

Depends entirely on the child/ren and the specific details of the situation.

Mine started to do this at about 9 or 10. Like you we live on quite a busy road, or I would have been happier for them to be out younger.

They would sometimes take the dog for a walk, or go to the supermarket for me, play in the woods opposite or go to the playground. All within 10 minutes walk.

They did not have phones at this age, but we had discussed what they might do if they needed adult help - i.e. who they might ask.

I think around 10. Where I life most kids take themselves to secondary school on train/bus/ tube from 11. However, you know your area and your children so only you can make an informed decision.

Completely depends on the details - how far away is the park, what's it like there, who are they with, what is your child like?

Mine used to go to the park alone at 9. He had a cheap mobile, not a smart phone, in case of emergency. But he used to play closer to the house with neighbours at a much younger age. Road was not busy, I could locate him by looking out of the window and could generally hear them.

When I was young I used to play in the park across a busy road. Our mum used to see us across and when we wanted to come back we'd stand there waiting until she saw us from the kitchen window.

It depends on the area, your children, the park and the crossing in question. Can you see the playground from your house or is it a big park with the playground deeper in? Is it well lit ? I live in a nice area but there are parks where drug dealers operate as well as ones which are much friendlier.

When you walk with your children, you should start with testing their road sense. Do your kids fight a lot? When mine went out there were times where they came home shouting and squabbling about each other which was more hassle than it’s worth.

Depends on location. My kids (6 and 7) allowed to the shop etc on their own in their grandparents' small village with cobbled pedestrianised streets, absolutely not until secondary school age at home in London

It depends on the child and the area. In practice (based on MN threads) it also seems to depend whether you are in Scotland or England.

My children were allowed out to play at different ages. DS at age 8 and DD at age 6. (DS was less traffic aware).

At first just to the park around the corner and then over the years they've been allowed to go further. My youngest (11) is now allowed to get the bus and go into our (small) town, to the cinema, bowling etc and my eldest (15) is allowed to travel to nearby cities by train or bus.

Only you can decide.

It's 9 round here (same age as walking to school alone). That would include walking to the park, local shop and friends' houses.
In streets where there is an area to play, children would be allowed out younger to play in just that area.

Start small. If you're concerned about the road, then your initial rule could be that you have to watch them cross it.
You can also consider giving them a brick phone (which is also great for teaching them responsibility of a phone) so you can stay in touch.