> But if I had kids I wouldn't really let them participate. Even with the police escort, they might lose the group and be on their own in this busy city. Don't

> But if I had kids I wouldn't really let them participate. Even with the police escort, they might lose the group and be on their own in this busy city. Don't underestimate the resourcefulness of kids - in many ways, Goonies was a documentary ;) I would have been comfortable with my kids doing something like this at 7 years of age. I recently had to chaperone on a schoolbus for a week - the 5 and 6 yo are still "small" and easily scared, but from 7 up they are basically fearless balls of energy. Sadly, as society, we don't give kids the level of independence they deserve, because we've been shocked and somewhat indoctrinated by 50 years of newscycle scaremongering. We expect every kid to end up like James Bulger if we let them roam - except statistically there will be one Bulger in millions, maybe billions, of kids. When I think of what I could do at the age my kids are now, I feel like I've let them down - but if I'd done anything differently, I would have had social services on my ass.