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.

Fgs How are children supposed to grow up to face the world if they never encounter anything without a parent being on their heels.

I completely disagree with this.

One bad experience, say, of older kids being intimidating, and you could give a 6ear old on their own with few coping skills, a real fear of doing anything on their own.

Ridiculous to say any 6 year old who isn't allowed out for a stroll with a dog around the neighbourhood will lack coping skills in the future is so extreme to be ridiculous

The child is six. There’s ample time for independence.

Fgs 😂

As if its ridiculous to think otherwise!

Guess youd be ok with a 4 year old down town on their own too

No

Also not in UK and my dd was walking to school at 7:30 am alone in the dark at age 6. But then she met all the other kids on the way who were doing the same.

But statistically it's much safer now (in the UK) than it was in the 90s - by every metric violent crime has gone down since then, so what's changed? As humans we're really bad at assessing actual risk and very good at copying others...6 is young but the UK is notable for how few children play outside independently and it's not a good thing.

This^

Not with a dog, your dog may be small and placid but the other dogs s/he may meet may very well not be.

Yet other places ( and previously in the UK) kids used to walk themselves to school age 5. Why have they become more incapable.

As for the OP. Id maybe let child walk round block ( while keeping secret eye) but not in charge of a doh

Nope

Absolutely not

I can’t speak for every single region. But the schools in my town I live in now (10,000 people population so not huge) allow it, the town a grew up in (about triple the size of my current one) allows it, my boyfriend from the posh suburbs outside of Glasgow did, my sisters boyfriend from Aberdeen did… pretty much everyone I know from all over Scotland has kids who have walked home from that age, or been allowed to by the school even if parents didn’t let them.

I don’t know about every regions or school but all the places I’m familiar with, allow it.

Probably yes. Maybe with you first, then without the dog, and see how it goes.

Bloody hell no!!

Absolutely not but it amazes me how many people on Mumsnet allow their kids to “play out” unsupervised. This is exactly the same risk

Would I allow a 6 year old to go out alone: yes
Would I allow a 6 year old to go out alone with a dog: no

What on earth are you talking about? Playing outside unsupervised is completely normal. Your parents didn't watch you constantly when you were a child.

No.

It would take nothing for someone to steal the dog from them/an uncontrolled dog to go bothering them/accidentally dropping the lead and the dog runs into the road and child naturally runs out to catch it... Too many risks. Oh God no. Definitely not.

I would never allow a child to walk a dog, supervised or unsupervised. Too many vicious off lead dogs around, too easy for your dog to get away from the child. My 11kg cocker can pull me off balance if she has a mind to. I'm not petite and am used to handing 500kg+ horses.

Absolute recipe for disaster IMO and highly likely for your dog to be injured.

Definitely not

Oh give over!

When I was 8 one of the neighbours asked if I could walk her 4, nearly 5, year-old DD in to the village school in the morning. I soon had a little group of about 3 5 year olds who I walked to school.

My DD walked to school by herself from Y6, so about 10. I would actually have been OK with her doing that a year earlier, no major roads to cross, but until Y6 they were not allowed inside until the bell went and I didn't want her to have to hang around in the playground if she was early.

No

Not with a dog, but I let my 7 and 5 year old boys play out in the fields behind our house without worrying