At what age did you allow your child out to play unsupervised?

[witchesbroom]

Just that really.
DD is a young 5 and has just started school. I was chatting to one of the mums yesterday who lives a couple of streets away from us, her child is in my DD's class so similar age, and she asked if my DD wanted to go round after school to play out in their street. She said that there's a group of around 8/9 of them that play out most days after school.
She lives on a busy road, near a park but you have to cross the main road and another smaller road to get to it.
I was a bit taken aback so I just said maybe another time but I definitely don't feel comfortable with letting DD roam the streets at this age and it hadn't even crossed my mind that she'd want to yet. I haven't even left her anywhere other than with her cousins for a play date.
Aibu to feel like this? Am I being over protective and Is this the norm at this age?

My kids were around 8 and had to stay on the street. Daughter is 9 soon and goes to the next street over and to the shop with her friends.

5 is definitely too young in my opinion. Mine were about 8 when they would play out the house & at the park on our road but only with others.

About 8 or 9. Definitely not 5.

My DD, 6, plays out, but we live on a 'walk' which is a grassy area with no cars, so no road crossing etc needed. I can also see her play from our kitchen window, so I sit and have a coffee while she plays out. She isn't allowed to leave the walk. I appreciate we are lucky to have that safe space directly in front of the house. I think 5 is too young to be crossing roads etc.

Definitely not 5! My son is 8 but I know he’s not ready to play out unsupervised as he doesn’t make good decisions. I suppose every child is different and you’ll get accused of Molly coddling on mumsnet but I rarely let my youngest out of my sight. My daughter went into town unsupervised at 11- but never really played out due to covid I suppose.

It depends. When my younger was that age a whole loads of kids about 5-10 years old played out on our block, but there was no road there and there were parents outside chatting and keeping an eye out. At 5 they'd not have been crossing a busy road or going to a park round the corner

Never 😅. DS 11 and 14. Times have changed. I remember playing in the forest nearby unsupervised at 5 which was normal then. We live in a city and it's just safe to let them play outside even if they go to and from school on their own. But hanging around outside? No..

Apparently kids can't reliably judge car speeds until age 10. DD is 8 and doesn't play out and nor do most of her friends, apart from one biy who has been allowed since age 6. The school allow them to walk home from year 5 (so 9) but I think most wait until 10 before letting them.

No way would I be letting my 5yo!

My eldest is 11 and have only just let her go to the park in the village, with a friend in their own. And give them a time to come home.

Letting a child of 5 or 6 out on their own is incomprehensible to me.

No way Jose. Ex-primary school teacher here. Children aren't (usually) officially taught road safety until Year 2, so around age 7. I was always told that there's research to suggest children don't even begin to have the capacity to understand the Green Cross Code until they're around 7 or 8, and still then it's only basic concepts when walking with an adult. Although the age of understanding obviously varies from child to child. My 3 year old knows to check left and right when crossing the road, but that is with a LOT of support and prompting, an even then he'd still step out into the road even if a car is coming.

In my opinion this means that 5 is WAY too young to be playing out alone, and even more so when there are 2 roads to cross!! Stick with your gut, @witchesbroom !

We lived in a cul de sac and my eldest played out front from 5/6 - not allowed to cross road but allowed on our side of the street with me being able to see him from kitchen window or sometimes take a chair out and sit outside. He would scooter or ride his little bike and there were several children of similar age who played out. But it was a very quiet road with hardly any cars coming in or out and I was always watching. I wouldn't let my 5 year old play outside out of my sight.

Thankyou for all of your replies, I think I knew my gut was right on this one! We live in a cul de sac but even then the speed some cars/delivery vans come round at is ridiculous I wouldn't feel comfortable letting her play out the front.
I'm more than happy for her friends to come round and play in our garden where I can keep an eye so I'll stick with that for now.

Mine were 10 when they were first allowed in the local park alone. We are in an urban city so that might make a difference but it was also due to their mentality. It was at this age that I felt they had a good level of knowing how to stay safe.

Age 6/7 is normal where I live in Scotland

I think this varies hugely depending not just on the overall area you live in, but your street/road itself too. (You might live in a very nice safe suburban area with lots of green space, but if your kid needs to cross three busy roads/roads with bad observation to get there, he or she is probably not going to play out as much.)

Where we live (smallish market town) I'd say the average age for kids starting to roam the streets is about 11. Mine are 8 and 11 and neither go out to play alone, but also neither have asked to. (The 11-yr old walks to and from school though - maybe 10mins each way.) I'd envisage within the next year or so he'll want to go into town with friends on a Saturday perhaps, and that'll probably be fine.