When to allow the children out alone?

[Tubemole1]

I have a daughter aged seven. We live on an extremely busy road in London. The shops are on the other side. There are places to cross the road, but it still can be dangerous, no pedestrian crossing as such.

Daughter is still at the stage where going out alone frightens the life out of her. Her cousin, aged 8 goes out alone but they live in a quieter cul-de-sac.

My questions are, when is a good age for allowing her to go out alone? I know it's not now, so how can we increase her confidence and improve her traffic perception training?

I only have one child, and am winging it, always!

Trust your own instinct and walk out with her as much as possible.

We started with walks to the shop with her walking ahead of me and then timed walks alone around about 9.

I remember some research that said they are not capable of judging the speed of cars until they are at least 8 years old so I agree with the previous poster.

NEVER!

Sorry mine are still little & the future frightens me.

This is difficult. We started letting DS (who is sensible) cross roads on holiday this summer. We have also started letting him stay at home for brief periods too such as off sick, left at home while DH collects DD)

It will be a long time before DD (6.5) gets to be allowed nowhere without an adult after walking into the road without looking TWICE while out trick or treating.

I think you have to judge each chid separately.

My DD is also 7 and we live by a really busy dual carriageway. Our actual road is quiet but there are two other big main roads at either end of it and I wouldn't feel comfortable allowing her out alone at the moment. What I do is when we are walking together, I let her say when we should cross (and point stuff out if she's missed it). I'm hoping this will let her develop her road sense a bit. I would say that if she had to she could manage to cross the dual carriageway at the pelican crossing but would struggle at the other big roads, even with the zebra crossings, as the cars move so fast (40+ mph) and don't always stop when they should.

There is no right age as children, and the places they live, vary so much. I think you will know when it is the right time for your DD if you listen to your instincts. Until then I would just do as much as you can to let her build up her independence. Are there any quieter roads near you where she can start to learn to cross on her own, with you nearby to grab her if she makes a mistake?

No need to push it. Nothing wrong with later if that's what suits her, too.

DD started heading out a bit on her own towards the end of primary school. She's 14 now and has Kurt done her first solo trip to London and back.

Just not Kurt !