Would you allow a 6 year old to go out alone?

[tonari]

Almost 7.

To walk around the block with (very) small placid dog. Takes less than 5 mins.

Small, quiet village.

Lots of people are debating whether a 6 year old should ever be out unsupervised so it's relevant. And in any case, of course this kind of play I'm describing often involves a child starting out alone, or being alone for a bit while others have gone inside etc

Have you read it? It's about the need for children to have unsupervised play outside, and how people overestimate the dangers of this nowadays. So it's highly relevant to the debate people are having above.

Yes.

I dont think it applies at all to a 6 year old being allowed put alone.

I agree with the principles of the article.

But not in the slightest does this apply to me for an unaccompanied 6 year old.

No, no and no!

Not because of the age, or even the child
But because of other people
It only takes one, going through the village that one time and then DONE

Around 10yr walking around with friends in the area to a park is fine. Younger than that is too risky.

Absolutely not, and children should never be left in charge of a dog however placid the dog

Jesus. NO!

I'm a Mum of a 5 yo, no dog.

DD plays out in the street.

No kid playing out on our street is ever alone for long, there are tons of kids always playing outside and we know them all. They're in and out of the houses, sometimes there'll be 10 of them running around in our garden, sometimes they'll be in someone else's garden or playing on the green

Once, DD fell over and grazed her knee. I could hear her crying and was already putting my shoes on but if I hadn't there were 2 kids already running up to the house to tell me.

Most of the time they resolve their own problems. DD is generally very good at handling arguments assertively without adult intervention and isn't easily led. She'll leave if she sees other children behaving badly.

But that is not the scenario described in the op even a tiny bit?

So not worth me commenting on!

No. !

You're the one talking about "all the things that could happen outdoors." Plenty of other posters are talking about the danger of letting kids outside unattended.

I would tend to agree there might be more things that could go wrong with a dog. I don't have one, so I don't know.

But there is nothing wrong with letting a child of 5 or 6 play outdoors in a safe neighbourhood and the chances of them being suddenly attacked by a predatory man in broad daylight on a residential street in the type of area where there are always people outside is so extremely unlikely that for all practical purposes it's a 0.

Now who’s being ridiculous. I was answering the op’s question about a particular scenario. Not picking something random out of the air.

Have you ever heard of the Sarah Payne, holly wells and Jessica Chatman stories? I think this is completely irresponsible. There are many sex offenders living amongst us and your letting your very young children play out alone where you cannot see them. I do hope you give your head a wobble and start supervising your children.

Is 10 year old a typo? At 11 they'll be getting a bus or walking to secondary school.by themselves and you aren't planning to start let them build up independence before 10??

no

one lady left her 6 year old to sit at a table whilst she looked around the shops for 1 hour in Westfield White City

security was on her case and social services called.

unfit mum

Holly and Jessica went into someone's house.

And besides most serial abuse of kids is by members of the same family or parents friends . So more likely at home

I allowed my six year old out “alone” around our close at this age…in fact I was following at a distance, hiding behind trees to give him a sense of independence but still make sure he was safe.

Why is 10 too young to do a short walk to school on theur own? At 11 they will be walking to bus stop and getting on bus to secondary on their own, so if don't start prepping them at 10, then it will be a huge shock at start of year 7.

I do think 6 is too young to go put alone though, as per ops post

Not in charge of a dog, no.

But MN users would be horrified at me because I let DS start playing out the front this year - he is 7yo.

Do you let your kids play Roblox or similar?

Child sex offenders tend to look for their prey online these days, seeing as that’s where most kids are. Because apparently the real world is so unsafe.

So gloriously Mumsnet! “Is it OK for a 6 year old to walk to the end of a quiet street and back?” “WHAT??? You’re wanting to let a 6 year old walk a mile down the hard shoulder of the M25????”
For clarity-I absolutely agree that he should not be in charge of the dog.

A poster once told me they were going to report Sweden as a country to social services as walking to school is normal as soon as children hit compulsory school age.

I don’t know pp , I just think it is 🤷🏻‍♀️..
I think it’s fine if they’re with others , just not on their own that’s all ..

I am in Ireland , they start secondary at 12/13 ..
Not joking everyone drops their kids to school here unless it’s on their doorstep ..
I live a 20 minute walk away & everyone around here drops their kids ..
I do think when weather is nice it is good for them to walk , doesn’t happen though !.
I know that makes them sound lazy , my lads are sporty though so I suppose it could be worse 🙂

I’d never leave a young child in charge of a dog, no matter how placid the dog might be. If he gets a scent and bolts, what is the 6 year old going to do, or if a reactive dog approaches. My 12 and 14 year olds take our dog out but I wouldn’t allow much younger.