Feeling pressure to let my dc go out alone to play

[ItsLateItsDark]

My ds is 8 and most of his friends are allowed to the park by themselves. He's started asking if he can go and I'm feeling like I should let him.

To me 8 is too young to go out alone. If it wasn't for his friends already going out I would happily leave it till he's about 10.

Aibu not to let him out or unreasonable to feel pressured to let him go?

Too young for me , I've gone with last year of primary for going to the park with friends

I agree OP. You’ll get piled on and told you’re OTT and their kid was doing the weekly shop for the family at 7…. Good for them, but it’s your child so your rules.

Did you go out with your mates to play when you were young? I bet you did. You've got to let him stretch his wings sometimes, and be with his friends.

My 2 8yos won't be going for a while

I wouldn't let my 8 year old go to the park on their own. They play outside the house but not to go off to the park out of sight.

Definitely would be a no from me.

IMO it totally depends on where you live, and your individual child’s maturity. You know best.

Completely depends on where you live?? How far is the park etc

Stick to your guns.

Last year of primary school is pretty standard. Unless it is a park directly opposite your house and you have a decent view of where he will be.

My 8 year old can play outside our house. I would not let her off to a park by herself - she is too young to consistently be safe crossing the road - and too innocent to realise someone might be weird and inappropriate.

Depends on the park, the journey there and the friends.

Mine aren’t allowed until y6, mostly because there’s usually teens hanging around at the park doing stupid things and I’m told by a friend in the police it’s a known location for county lines activity. Even then in y6 it’s daylight only, only in a group of friends (who I know and also know their parents), with a phone and once they’re used to crossing the roads to get there independently.

At 8, not a chance. I might feel differently if we lived somewhere that didn’t involve a busy road and where the park was less of a magnet for teenage antisocial activity. I am happy to have the children’s friends hanging out here though - often my garden becomes the equivalent of the park!

No, too young. Your instincts are right.

I have an 8 year old, who is very sensible, and I definitely still wouldn't let her do this.

OP, what age did you go out to play?

But things are different now. Sadly.

We did play out from about 7 or 8 but our older siblings were out too. Not engrossed in their phones/screens. The older ones looked out for the younger ones. We knew most of our neighbours and which front doors we could knock on in an emergency.

Definitely not and my eldest is 8. Some children do play at the park at the end of the road on their own from the same year but I'm still saying no.
I look at it like this... what will i likely regret more? Not letting them play out? Unlikely. Or letting them go too early and something happening?

Trust your gut.

Nah my 8 almost 9 year old doesn’t go anywhere alone.

I played out with friends from 8 and was in an argument with a child my age one day about who had the longest hair. Her older brother came into the park and beat me up when she told him I was saying I had nicer hair. No adults present to protect me. Wait!

It would be a no from me too!

I agree with others, year 6 which is 10/11 would be when I'd start letting it happen.

No too young to be out of eyesight. My two are allowed out in the cul de sac in the summer and go up and down on their bikes but I watch them out the window and it’s a very quiet road. I wouldn’t let my 9 year old take herself off anywhere out of my line of vision.

8 is too young for me as well.

I am still getting my head around the fact that my 6’2” 17 year old is okay to walk an hour home from 6th form. I still worry about other kids attacking him but he wears a suit not school uniform so I doubt kids would attack him. Still worry though because of what we see on the news.

Keep them safe for as long as you can because there will be a time when they are fending for themselves .

Is your park like a 20 min jorney by train or 2min walk down the street?
Unless he needs to use public transport or walk for over 20min to get to a park I really do not see an issue about letting him go and play with friends.
8y old is not that young tbh.
They do not magicaly grow up over night once they start secondary school.
Just let him get used to responsibility a bit.

Did you go to the park with your friends at 8? I certainly didn't. We could play out on the street or the green visible from the house, but even 40 years ago we weren't hanging around the park on our own at 8.

for me that’s last year of primary