topic Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend? in Community Chat

At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

msh8970 — Thu, 16 May 2019 04:44:57 GMT

My neighbor was wondering this, and her boy is 9, he is very advanced for his age with book smarts, but, he is still a kid. She was asking how old in personal opinion should a child be, before he is allowed to walk through a neighborhood by himself, or with a friend who's the same age..? I would say at least 10...but curious what others' thoughts are..? The neighborhood is all in all very safe, but there are always worries, regardless..

I know I was about 10 when my mom started to let me walk through the neighborhood by myself or with friend(s)..and that was almost 40 years ago, and it seems like the world is crazier these days..?

So, what age do you think a child should be allowed to walk through his/her neighborhood..? I don't have kids myself, but in this day and age, I think at least 10, if not 11..? I do see some kids riding bicycles in the neighborhood by themselves, who look to be 7 or 8 years old..but obviously every parent is different....that;s hard, because the kid might feel 'babied,' but....still, better safe than sorry, imho..

I think my thought is, if the kid still requires a babysitter, then the kid should probably not walk alone by himself/herself through any neighbohood, no matter how safe the neighborhood seems..jmo..Curious to hear others' thoughts on this one..

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

ALRATIBA — Thu, 16 May 2019 04:54:31 GMT

Depends on the child and the neighborhood. There is no "one size fits all" answer to this.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

GAQShopr53 — Thu, 16 May 2019 05:17:15 GMT

I think it depends on the maturity of the child (at least 9) and the overall neighborhood. With that being said I would not allow my child in this day and time walk the neighborhood at all unless they were going a short distance. Call me overprotective but there is just too much going on.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

DiAnne — Thu, 16 May 2019 05:17:55 GMT

The kids all run loose in my neighborhood. I think the youngest is about 5. They are riding scooters, skateboards, bicycles, etc.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

Anonymous032819 — Thu, 16 May 2019 09:21:24 GMT

How old? 35.

Seriously though, all I know is that no matter what the age, I'd be all kinds of nervous until they got back home.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

cherry — Thu, 16 May 2019 09:25:23 GMT

Times are so different today ,than when I was young. I think I was about 11 or 12, when I was allowed to walk downtown, alone. Mothers back then, worried more about traffic and getting hit by a car, than dangerous people

I don't think there is any pat answer to your question. It is up to each family to weigh the odds and come to a decision

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

Yahooey — Thu, 16 May 2019 10:30:30 GMT

As another poster mentioned, there was more fear of cars than bad people. I was buying cigarettes, newspapers or coffee for my dad much younger than ten but it was at the corner and I didn't have to cross the street.

I can ride my bike up and down the sidewalk or around the block but I cannot bike cross the street at age 11 or 12 yet I can walk to school by myself (6 blocks) at the same age.

There is no perfect answer and you can encounter a bad person at any age. Child should be aware of surroundings and walk with a buddy or 2.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

qualitygal — Thu, 16 May 2019 10:30:37 GMT

Is this a child mature and smart enough to know what to do should the need arise. Some kids are still to young and some too small in stature to protect and react if the situation should present itself. Mom should know his amount of smarts and maturity. In today's nutty world..................man, don't let go of that protection too soon.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

CalminHeart — Thu, 16 May 2019 11:04:31 GMT

As a 50s child, we were everywhere in the neighborhood, no restrictions. When my 80s kids were young, they could go to certain places as long as I knew...but I made our back yard the neighborhood playground so all the kids were here and I could keep track of mine. I would not let a child under 12 out of my site now except for a few neighbors or riding bikes on our street. It's too easy for someone to hurt/take a kid.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

cherry — Thu, 16 May 2019 11:08:53 GMT

I just want to add, I think traffic is a bigger hazard than when I was a child. We didn't have cell phones ,and smart phones, and all sorts of hand held devises ,that distract drivers

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

SilleeMee — Thu, 16 May 2019 11:30:56 GMT

I never see kids of any age walking through my neighborhood alone except to get to the bus stop sometimes. Even then many of the kids have someone drive them to the bus stop and wait inside the cars until the bus gets there. Same goes for when they come home. It's different today, that is for sure.

If I had a kid, I would not let my kid walk alone anywhere...in my neighborhood or anywhere else.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

chrystaltree — Thu, 16 May 2019 11:35:02 GMT

Impossible to answer because there are 99 variables. Like what is this neighborhood like, where are these kids going, how far, what are the other kids like....oh....it goes on and on. It's a question that only parent can answer.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

Marp — Thu, 16 May 2019 11:39:16 GMT

@msh8970 wrote:
My neighbor was wondering this, and her boy is 9, he is very advanced for his age with book smarts, but, he is still a kid. She was asking how old in personal opinion should a child be, before he is allowed to walk through a neighborhood by himself, or with a friend who's the same age..? I would say at least 10...but curious what others' thoughts are..? The neighborhood is all in all very safe, but there are always worries, regardless..

I know I was about 10 when my mom started to let me walk through the neighborhood by myself or with friend(s)..and that was almost 40 years ago, and it seems like the world is crazier these days..?

So, what age do you think a child should be allowed to walk through his/her neighborhood..? I don't have kids myself, but in this day and age, I think at least 10, if not 11..? I do see some kids riding bicycles in the neighborhood by themselves, who look to be 7 or 8 years old..but obviously every parent is different....that;s hard, because the kid might feel 'babied,' but....still, better safe than sorry, imho..

I think my thought is, if the kid still requires a babysitter, then the kid should probably not walk alone by himself/herself through any neighbohood, no matter how safe the neighborhood seems..jmo..Curious to hear others' thoughts on this one..

In general I say it depends on the child and neighborhood. I know mid-teens that shouldn't be allowed out without adult supervision and I know 7-year-olds that have the maturity and social experience to be able to travel the immediate neighborhood with their friends.

I suspect your neighbor is either not ready to extend the apron strings or doesn't feel her son is ready to be without oversight. In either case I would suggest baby steps. Perhaps let him go but with a line of sight restriction as he earns mom's trust in his ability to handle being alone with friends.

As to your thought about the kid still requiring a babysitter are you thinking daytime sitter or just when the parents will be out for the evening? IMO 13 would be the minimum age when an evening babysitter is not needed.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

SahmIam — Thu, 16 May 2019 11:50:09 GMT

In my community, children are walking to school alone in second grade. By 5th, they're everywhere without an adult in site. Our community is ranked A+ by the police department meaning we average 1-2 calls a YEAR. 1800 homes in my community. Groomed paths are everywhere.

Where a friend of mine lives, this would NEVER happen due to the level of violence in her community.

No set answer as it depends on the child and where you live.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

SilleeMee — Thu, 16 May 2019 11:54:47 GMT

@SahmIam wrote:
In my community, children are walking to school alone in second grade. By 5th, they're everywhere without an adult in site. Our community is ranked A+ by the police department meaning we average 1-2 calls a YEAR. 1800 homes in my community. Groomed paths are everywhere.

Where a friend of mine lives, this would NEVER happen due to the level of violence in her community.

No set answer as it depends on the child and where you live.

It does not matter if you live in the most elite parts of town. Bad things happen there, too.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

haddon9 — Thu, 16 May 2019 12:10:11 GMT

I can remember walking to school by myself in the second grade in the early 1960s. I walked several blocks in the heart of Brooklyn, past Brooklyn college....out of site of our apartment building so my mother couldn't see once I crossed Ocean Ave. (a fairly busy street).

I was also allowed to walk to the local library by myself while we lived in Brooklyn. My family moved to Queens when I was 9 1/2 and I walked to school there too by myself.

I now live in a VERY safe and quiet suburb. If you look up crime stats for my area there is almost nothing...an occasional DUI and some theft in local businesses. Yes bad things could happen anywhere but I have to laugh to myself when I see parents lined up at the school bus stop for their kids. We are talking about less than a block away! ...Many homes are in full view from being able to see the kids get off the bus.

I don't believe that things are more dangerous today...there were plenty of bad people in the good old days...the difference is technology is so advanced that we hear about bad things constantly today.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

haddon9 — Thu, 16 May 2019 12:18:14 GMT

@SilleeMee wrote:
@SahmIam wrote:
In my community, children are walking to school alone in second grade. By 5th, they're everywhere without an adult in site. Our community is ranked A+ by the police department meaning we average 1-2 calls a YEAR. 1800 homes in my community. Groomed paths are everywhere.

Where a friend of mine lives, this would NEVER happen due to the level of violence in her community.

No set answer as it depends on the child and where you live.

It does not matter if you live in the most elite parts of town. Bad things happen there, too.

@SilleeMee I think teaching a child to live in fear is not good. Yes it's better to be safe rather than sorry and it's good to teach them to learn to be cautious but we can't live life in constant fear. Particularly if you live in a very safe area. One should weigh the maturity level of each child and community safety.

Of course bad things can happen anywhere...with that line of thought since we have a lot of school shootings now perhaps most parents would feel better about keeping their kids at home (and safe!) and just do home schooling.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

Icegoddess — Thu, 16 May 2019 12:20:06 GMT

Depends on the neighborhood. I walked to school starting in the 1st grade. Times are different now, and that is probably too young for most anywhere. But, if I still lived in the town I grew up in I still probably wouldn't hesitate to let them make that walk by 3rd or 4th grade. Walking and playing around the neighborhood is different than walking to school and I would encourage it with the proper precautions. I knew even at 6 not to get into cars with strangers. In fact, a couple pulled up next to me and asked if I wanted a ride home and I refused. Turned out they were friends of my parents and I probably should've known them.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

phoenixbrd — Thu, 16 May 2019 12:23:54 GMT

There will always be concerns as a parent. I agree with others that the maturity of the child and the environment dictate at what age you abdicate control, but that doesn't mean that you ever lose concern for your child's safety.

Re: At what age should a child be allowed to walk neighborhood alone or with a friend?

SilleeMee — Thu, 16 May 2019 12:25:34 GMT

@haddon9

Unfortunately I think living in fear has become the norm for some people and that isn't necessarily coming from being taught to live in fear. It just happens, especially in the world as it is today.