What age can children play out alone.

[Gee29]

Genuinely intrigued at what other people think. My eldest is 10 and the vast majority of his friends play out alone. DS does not as he is autistic. He sometimes plays out the front with a kid he goes school with who lives on the street.

Dd is 5! I’ve never let her play out alone. She feels too young. She’s in year 1 and not 6 until August.

Many of her friends nearby play out alone. Aibu to to think she’s still too young?

I guess it depends on the child, how mature they are etc and where you live. It is a very safe place. Virtually zero crime rates and most people know each other. But you still worry of course.

So yeah.. thoughts? When did you let your children play out alone?

We let ds play on the nearby green when he was 8. But he's very level headed and was with other kids. We let him walk to the shop or skatepark now and he's 10. We always set ground rules and expectations and he always sticks to them.

Dd is 4 and I don't let her play out with him even though he sometimes wants her to and I know he's very protective over her and she does as she's asked. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her and he blamed himself for it. She's not his responsibility.

I haven't let mine play out alone ever. Too many cars on the road and just not a kid friendly area. I played out from age 8 to 12 (mainly front of own house but allowed on whole street) but seems so young to me now. Seen a few children out from 4/5 years old alone

My little boy is 4 and a half and has just started playing in our small yard on his own when I’m in the kitchen. He’ll take some toys out and potter around. The gate tends to be closed so I’m not at all worried.

We back onto a traffic free cobbled street with other terrace back yards about 4 feet opposite - if there were other children next door or over the way, I think I’d let him play with them, as I’d be able to see from the kitchen.... and he’s my shadow so I wouldn’t be worried about him going anywhere! And we’re a small village so everyone knows everyone at least by sight....

I grew up playing out from about 3 or 4 though, in a similar street though with “hundreds” of kids, so think maybe that’s why I few q relaxed about it? I don’t think I’d be so chilled out if we were still in Maida Vale!

I can’t remember exactly but it definitely wasn’t in primary school. He was walking alone to school in year 8 so probably around then which is 12/13.

It depends where you live. We're on a busy road and 11yo DS has only just started going to the nearby park with a friend. We were planning to start getting him being more independent last summer: teaching him how to get to the swimming pool on the bus, walking into town to the shops etc. Covid put paid to that but I'm hoping to do that in the summer so he's ready for high school.

Year 5

Younger if they have older siblings

5 year old sister would regularly play out the local streets and fields with us

We live rurally and at the end of an unadopted cul de sac. Most of the houses are young families so the street is usually full of kids. The youngest ones are usually about 4. They all go in each others houses and gardens, we all leave windows and doors open and if they are near your house, you keep an eye out. It's pretty unique in modern life but I think it's so so important that children get to play without direct adult supervision.