what age did you let your kids playoutside

[ladybutterfly1]

hi only been on site for a week need some advice just a few minutes ago my daughters friend called for mine to play out side i let her play where i can see her or daughter stays in garden for some reason 2day i let her go with her friends to the park a few blocks away im now shiting myself and think what have i done why did i do that shes really close to her friend my daughters nearly 9 but her friend about 11 she just started her first year in highschool and her other friend she went out with is her age i wish i dident do it now whats the right age to let your child out playing outs not like it was when i was a kid im quite shy so i dont no if i did it cause i felt akward and let her go sent partner to park to check on her i guess the hard bit of being a parent starts now then.

dd is nearly 8 and I let her go and play with her friends who live quite a bit further along the road from us. (we are not on the main road though so have a lot less traffic) She can also go to one of the 3 little play parks which are all out of sight. DS who is nearly 5 is allowed to go with her to the little play parks occasionally too although I mostly tend to go with him

My 5yo and 7 yo go to the park almost daily with their friends, all on their bikes. However, we live in a small village and we know the people in every house along the way. Also, there is very little traffic in the area. However, when we first started allowing them to go, we gave them a walkie talkie, and when we wanted them to come home, we just buzzed them and they would have to the count of 100 to be back. It worked well, and they built up enough trust within about 6 months to be allowed out without the walkie talkies.

It depends on where you live and the type of area you live in.
My DD played outside whilst I watched constantly from the window at age 4. When we moved house she was 6 and my son was 3 and I let them both play out in the play area opposite our house with quite a few other young children who lived on the Close. By the time my DS was 8 he was going off all over the place on his scooter.
It IS scary letting them out but they have to learn how to cope with situations. My sisters children were never allowed out until they were at High school and they were far less able to cope outside than my children.

but dont you worry about what you read in papers and whats on tv i no you cant wrap your children up in cottonwool but it scares me im frightened they could be olderkids around that do somthing nasty to her then id blame my self.

I don't think you should let your fears hold your children back. Of course there are risks but don't we all blow them up out of proportion ?

I really don't think there is any more risk ( apart from traffic!) these days than there were years ago - we just have all the bad news magnified and thrown at us all the time.
Children have to learn how to cope with situations like other kids being horrible to them. Life isn't all nice and easy all the time.
Course,.. it is scary for Mums though !