To think 9.45 is too late for kids to be playing out?

[Ladycsparkles]

As the title says- friends of my children, they live up the street are allowed to play out what I consider far too late- they are 6 and 4.
Mine are allowed to play out the back as there are no cars and they can't go anywhere but latest they are allowed to play out is 7.15 at a push- then it's Bath, story etc.

Both my kids have just told me I'm lame cos their friends are allowed out later and they have to come in.

Am I an old fashioned fuddy Duddy who should give her kids a little more freedom?

Just to add my children are 9 and 4, the kids who they play wiTh are 6 and 4

I'm not a parent but coming in at 7.15 for bath and bed for a 9 year old in the summer holidays seems a bit fuddy duddyish for me as long as where they play is safe. But then again I think 9.45 for a 6 year old is too late. Ignore me while I remove the splinters from sitting on this fence.

Thank you- I do get your point- to be fair my 9 year old generally goes up and plays on his Xbox so he's not going to bed as such. Maybe I'll offer to let him stay out a bit later.

For the 9 year old I think 8pm is a good time to come in. That's the time our local summer playscheme leaves the park. However it's starting to get dark at that time now.

Nothing to do with old-fashioned or fuddy-duddy: I know plenty of people who were allowed to play out later than 7.15 50 years ago.

Do what you think is right but don't try to score moral points by ascribing everything that is different to your own habits to the degenerate modern times.

I think it's too late, especially if they're noisy!

Seriously why do you care wether it's too late? No I wouldn't let my kids play out that late but what other people do is their business .

i never mentioned the word degenerate, yes they're noisy, yes they bang on my back door up until they go indoors but that's not what I was asking about as it's irrelevant. I tend to shut the curtains and ignore them unless they're playing out the front in the road.

I will offer to let my 9 year old play out till 8, thank you for your replies guys

I don't care- they're not my kids not my business, I wanted to know if I was unreasonable making my children come in at the time I have been doing and I accept that my eldest may appreciate more time to play out.

Yup there were certainly a lot more kids playing out and until about 9.30pm when I was younger and I'm in my early 40s - so I'm not sure about how old fashioned you are. My 9 year old plays out until about 8.30 or 9pm if she wants to go out, my 6 year old until about 7.30.

Bath/story usual routine tends to go out the window a bit during the summer holidays for us anyway so sometimes it's play, quick wash, conked out in bed.

My eldest has SEN so I try and keep to the same basic routine as term time as much as I can, sorry maybe I should have put that in my op.

When I was young I had to come in when the street lights came on- not a clue what time that was to be honest?

My youngest also has Sen so I keep to a routine for him he doesn't play out on his own anyway as he has no awareness of danger different parents do things differently though.

Imo that's late, it's dark by 8.30 now isn't it?

He literally rides his scooter up and down and that's it, he can't go any further as the gate at the end is locked

Our DDs frequently don't get to bed until 10 pm as it's school holidays (they're 8 and 5), but I wouldn't let them play outside until then, definitely not. They play on their iPad or watch DVDs, or simply play together.

So it sounds as if YANBU to bring the DCs in at 7:30 as the 9 year old isn't going straight to bed but doing stuff inside the house.

I think that's too late at 6 and 4. Fine in their own back garden, but not playing out the front. It's dark at 9.45.

One of my earliest memories was lying in bed on long summer nights listening to children playing out, i wanted to be out there with them. I agree, i think 8 is a reasonable time in the holidays.

I'm surprised that those children are even awake let alone running around on the street.

I spoke to my son and said he can stay out till 8 if he wants to but only till he goes back to school. He said oh I didn't really want to anyway, I was just saying what others said about you!

Very very uncool mam clearly!