How old where you dc when you let them play out on their own?

[JennyfromtheBlock]

My ds are 7 and 8 and I would love them to be able to go to the park etc with their friends, but I am petrified

Which age where you dc and how did you cope?

Also what were your rules about playing out?

Thank you

I let my 9 & 7 yr olds go out togeather, we live in a horse shoe road with a very small boring park at the top end.

They started out just playing on the drive or infront of the house on scoots & bikes and then the children opposite started to play out so they played in front of their house as well.

It has now been a year and there are 9 children that play out after school and they roam the horse shoe and small park after school, tbh it was a struggle to get them in from school before going out so I now have a list of things to do for them before they go out to play.

I have an open house policy at the weekend so they do all tend to play in & out all day long and I can then do my housework (work out of the home during the week)

My rules are that I trust them to play out unless they break that trust and then they are grounded, things like not coming in at 6pm because some children can stay out later, not playing nicely etc

We are lucky enough to live in a small town and have been here since DD1 was a baby so I do have friends on our close that will give me a call if needed or know they can tell the children "remember not to play near the parked cars" "Girls keep the screetching down a bit, why don't you go into the park"

They love playing out with their friends.

My reply isn't clear! They have been playing out for a year and they are now 10 & 8, I wouldn't have trusted my 8y old when she was 6 because she can be quite ditzy.

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately our street is on a road that runs the town(not a main road) so they would have to walk to the park about 3-4 mins away but not seen from our house. I trust my 8(nearly 9yo) however my 7 year ds has severe hearing loss, but it's his friends who always come to the door

I just feel bad as they don't get out much, no garden really and I have a 4yo and 3yo as well as being pg so can't always take them to the park.

I dont want to hold them back however and realise I need to let them be more independent( and to stop being so overprotective)

I live in a smallish scottish town and on quite a family orientated street. ds2 got to play out in the garden alone when he was three and when he was four was allowed to walk three doors down to grannys and across the quiet road so he could buy a 10p mix up bag from the corner shoppie. There are lots of young children (probably about 5+) out playing most evenings in my street, in gardens and on the street.

My DD started playing out last summer, just before her 6th birthday. We live in a quiet close, everyone knows each other and I can usually see her from my balcony. She is very sensible, knows the rules and sticks to them. We live in London.

since she was about 4 years old - but we live in a cul-de-sac of about 20 houses. She is still not allowed to go beyond that road.

@5 years old: reappears on our doorstep after 20 minutes

Me: I thought you were going to call on Rosie?
Child: she wasn't in
Me: So - where have you been?
Child: Well, I needed a poo so I asked Rosie's mum if I could use their toilet...

mine were 10 before they were allowed out on the street unsupervised

Now my son is 8 I am really pretty happy for him to go to the park with sensible friends on his own but I give him a time to be back, usually about an hour at most. I'm lucky because the park, although not visible from our house, is only a few minutes' walk away. My difficulty is that few of his friends' parents are happy to do the same! You have a 9-year-old, that helps, do any of his friends have older siblings who could also go along? An 11-year-old would be ideal.

I let my DD (8.5) out to the park with a friend (same age) for the first time this week. They had a great time and came back safely. They have to cross one (reasonably quiet) road to get there.

I've let both the DC out on the bit of grass outside my house that I can see for a few years. Letting them have some freedom is something I've always felt it is important to do though - I was allowed a great deal as a child, and felt very strongly even then that children who weren't allowed out missed out on a lot.