do you think DD aged 7 will be ok running on roads unaccompanied

[boneyjonesy]

DD who is 7 wants to take part in a Fun run next weekend.We have been round the course her on feet me on bike and it is 2.25 miles (3.6Km) and run entirely on hilly bendy country roads which will be open.Now the first thing is that there is no way I am doing it and DH is busy with another DC that day.
There will be marshalls on the route particularly on junctions, but obviously not everywhere, and probably about 40 kids doing it altogether some with parents.The thing that worries me is that the roads are open and there is no verge or footpath and in parts visibility is reduced because of bends and hills although the road is quite wide (wide enough for 2 cars to pass) and on a sunday afternoon should be fairly quiet Do you think she will be ok doing it unaccompanied?

A mile behind? I said walk not stop

20 metres could be too far if the kid tried to cross the road at the wrong time.

On your bike or don't let her do it.

Had areply!
They are happy for me to cycle with her but not within half a mile of the start or 200m of the finish because of the risks to other runners. they will be in a pack for the first half mile I suppose.i'll wait for her with my bike at the point they suggested and leave her to sprint the last 200m which is all downhill!.
Thanks for your help ladies!!

Glad it's sorted.

I think that many of you have no idea how fast 7 year olds can run. I walk quite fast, but there's no way a fit 7 year old wouldn't leave me for dust!

Excellent. Now put your helmet on in case all those runners knowk YOU over.

I have a very fast 7 yr old dd but I would have kept her within sight and rigged behind not for road safety reasons alone but because I wouldn't meant her being alone even with Marshalls

great

ohChristFENTON
That is ridiculous. My DC do lots of stuff that I don't do with them cause I simply hate doing them. Such as sledging or going on fairground rides.

Glad that you have a solution, Boney. Hope your DD has a great time.

Great Boney! hope you both enjoy it.

7 is far too young. Either you go with or find another parent prepared to take full responsibility for your child (ie not let them out of their sight).

My comment is ridiculous? Wow!

My seven year old thinks he can go to Devon and discover a brand new dinosaur - I think this is unlikely but if I let him believe he can do it then I fully expect to be down there digging with him

Fenton
what does digging for dinosaurs have to do with this? Where is the rule that parents have to do everything with their children?

My DD is 10yo and loves to go sledging but I hate sledging so she goes with DH (I am happy to go with them but don't like the actual sledging bit). Should I go sledging, even though I don't like it, just because my DC love to? What does that teach my kids?

Your DD loves sledging so she goes with your DH. You don't send her alone.

My DSs love playing rugby. I loathe and hate it with a vengeance. I still go and stand in a wet, windy, muddy field for 2 hours every other Sunday for 7 months of the year but obvious don't actually play.

Ohchristfenton, you said that as parents we should be prepared to do anything our children do. Yep. Ridiculous!

Soup
But you don't go and play rugby, which is what is being suggested here.

Of course I do stuff that I don't particularly like because my DC want to, but I don't have to physically join in everything that they do.

OP - glad it worked out for you.

I think you got a hard time on here from all the people saying it is easy to keep up with a 7 year old. It isn't, and if you are worried about road safety, being 200m behind is no different from being at the finish line.

Did the organisers say it would be ok for her to run unaccompanied btw?

Nice bit of misquoting there seeker.

D'you know what happened on here, and I'm guilty of it, and it happens a lot - people get really really blinkered about what it is reasonable to expect, and won't back down, because the initial OP does seem unreasonable, possibly for different reasons, and it gets ludicrous.

Hence: yes you're being unreasonable about school parking: why don't you walk? Oh you can't - well then why don't you just simply set off an hour early and wait in the car and have some lovely family time while you wait for the gates to open? Oh, your 8 month old twins would need feeding? Well why don't you have a lovely family time feeding them in the car ffs? etc

See also: what do you mean what tumble drier should you get? YABVVVVU to have a tumble drier! What do you mean where would you dry the triplets' clothes? Use one of your spare rooms and a laundry hoist! What do you mean you don't have a spare room? Everyone has a spare room or space! What do you mean you live in a two room cellar? Well why do you need to wash clothes every day anyway, DC won't expire from a bit of muck ffs!

So yeah, I think OP was a tad unreasonable to totally rule out trying, rather more unreasonable to expect everyone else to look out for dd, rather more so for saying she didn't care if dd fell over, and even more so had she decided this was safe thing for a 7 year old to do. However possibly some of us have been too gung ho with the 'what do you mean you can't run' bit.

No, I don't play rugby but I am there, not leaving them to fend for themselves nor am I palming responsibility off to someone else.

OP, I see you have resolved the situation :)

However, I just wanted to say that provided she was happy to run alone, and the organisers were happy for her to run alone I would have let her :)

"If you are expecting your 7 year old to run a 2.5 hilly then you should be prepared to do it too really."

Oh- does that only apply to running then, ohchristfenton?

you said that as parents we should be prepared to do anything our children do

^ I didn't say that. I was suggesting to the OP that since she considered the run would be challenging/impossible for her to do but fully expected her seven year old to manage it - then really she should consider doing it with her to support her in what she really wanted to do.

That's my opinion, in this instance, of what would be the right thing to do - or certainly what I would do.

That said she has gladly found a compromise which seems to suit everyone so it's a bit pointless poking at comments and opinions of other posters simply because you don't necessarily agree with them.