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Parenting

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Original poster

what age do you let your child out alone

17 replies

choclab · 27/04/2011 18:55

can any one help ?

My DD is will be 11 in end july .( she is a young small 11 )

in her class there are alot of 11 almost 12 , recently some of the mums are letting them go into town by bus alone , i have said no to DD , as we think she is to young .

they are also letting them go to local park alone ,

my DD not to bothered .

i know it depends alot on individual child , but i cant help feeling a bit presured as when i tell the mums no shes to young , they say , i have to let go one time , bla bla ..

any thoughts ?

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Al0uiseG · 27/04/2011 18:57

Mine started to do this at secondary school. I'd say it was a very normal activity for that age group.

pointydog · 27/04/2011 19:07

Children go into our local small town at around age 10. They go to the local parks younger than that. I suppose it depends on your town.

They go into the nearest city at high school, so age 11/12.

littlemisslost · 27/04/2011 19:10

my dd is 7 and I think in 3 years I think I would be happy for her to go to the local park and maybe walk to school but not into the city centre,

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Original poster

choclab · 27/04/2011 19:12

oh maybe im out of touch a bit ..

OP posts:

winnybella · 27/04/2011 19:12

DS is 9 and goes to the park by himself. I think I'll let him take a bus later this year.

11 is definitely enough to go to the park by herself.

exoticfruits · 27/04/2011 19:24

A good idea to start, she will have to get to secondary school by herself. Once at secondary school she will expect to be able to meet friends in town to go shopping.

exoticfruits · 27/04/2011 19:25

It depends a lot on where you live of course.

mumof2beebies · 27/04/2011 19:48

My boy plays out for hours with the dogs and is in and out, when he wants a drink and such. We live on a farm though.
When I was a kid on an estate I played out front with friends from age 4-5, went to the local park with friends aged 6to 7

Original poster

choclab · 27/04/2011 20:09

interesting views, thanks everyone for reply,s

OP posts:

Themumsnot · 27/04/2011 20:13

My DD2 has just turned 11. I allow her to go into town on her own, go to the cinema or the swimming pool with friends, go to the park alone or even take her younger sister who is almost 9. I do think you need to let your DD do this if SHE feels ready.

bigTillyMint · 27/04/2011 20:16

DD and Ds were 9 when they were allowed to go to local shops / park / pool(all 5mins away).

DD is 11 and at sec school (also a titch!) and goes around the local area very confidently now, including buses, with friends - she has to anyway for school

Themumsnot · 27/04/2011 20:18

When my DD1 turned 11 (she is now 13)and we started letting her do this we started with smaller stuff, eg letting her go around the shops by herself for half an hour while we were all in town together to make sure she could do stuff like go to a shop and buy something and find her way back to wherever we were meeting. DD2 does this quite confidently now and they will even take themselves off to a cafe together and have a hot chocolate.
Start with a small excursion and build it up from there.

Bunbaker · 27/04/2011 20:22

DD is nearly 11 and not very streetwise, although she is pretty sensible. I let her run down the road to her friend's house and go to the rec adult free but with friends. The rec is away from the road and surrounded by trees so I wouldn't let her go completely on her own, but she wouldn't want to go on her own anyway.

There is no way I would let her go into town on her own - a 10 mile return trip on the train. There are parts of the town centre that are peopled with "less desirable" examples of mankind and even I feel uncomfortable walking past them let alone allowing my daughter to be near them unaccompanied.

If I go to Meadowhall I am happy to let her look around Build-a-Bear on her own while I pop into Gap next door.

She starts high school in September and will catch the bus to school, along with most of her class, so she won't be on her own then either.

therealmrsbeckham · 27/04/2011 20:24

DD is 10 (11 in a couple of months) and i've been letting her walk to school and go to local park/swimming pool/shops with her friends for about 12 months. She has to have her mobile phone with her though.

She doesn't go into town yet (hasn't asked) but i'm sure that she will be wanting too when she starts secondary school in September.

cory · 27/04/2011 21:05

Ds started walking to school alone aged 9 (dd would have done too, except she was in a wheelchair at the time). By the time they were 10, I was happy for them to walk around local shops, by age 11 to go into town with friend (or dd with little brother).

Original poster

choclab · 27/04/2011 21:44

Im with you bunbaker

My DD is 10 , starting secondary in sept , will just be 11 ,im thinking this time next year i will feel better about it all.

i do have bonus she doesnt want to yet to so long may that last ...

she does play out in street near our home and when we go shopping sometimes she will go in a shop while i wait outside , litlte steps i think ,and maybe that will then feel right for us both .

OP posts:

Muzzymum · 08/02/2013 13:42

Hello. This is a very old strand I see but I'm going through the same thing with my daughter. I'm wondering what you did and how you got on?

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