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Article was short on details, like ages and age-appropriate activities. When can I let my child roam his city neighborhood? That would be extremely helpful.

by wffurr 3y ago

atoav 3y ago
If you are from the US, good luck. Here in Europe you often see kids alone in the city, either to go to school or to solve some sort of educational riddle they need to solve by finding the right place in small groups of three kids or something I went to school alone since I was 7. As far as I know in much of the US people would probably sue you if your kid went alone.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  It all depends. Some towns (or parts of towns) are walkable and some are really not. In my town there are certainly young kids (i.e. elementary school age) who walk or bike to school on their own. Sometimes there are parents walking with them, but I think they do it because they enjoy a walk with their child rather than any real concern for safety. There are crossing guards at walkways where kids will need to cross busier roads. In other areas, schools are just too far away to walk, or there are other difficulties such as major roadways with a lot of traffic. Then kids ride a bus or parents take them.
- wffurr 3y ago
  Cambridge, MA, USA public schools will allow children to leave unsupervised starting in third grade, which is 8 turning 9. Seems like a reasonable baseline.
adrianN 3y ago
You as a parent probably know best when you can trust your child enough. Children are very different from each other, especially during the first ten years.
jazzyjackson 3y ago
That's really a matter of whether the adults in your vicinity will call child services when they spot unsupervised kids.
mlrtime 3y ago
If you're waiting for your city to change, it's too late. Your kids will have grown up. You need to move to a place where unsupervised outdoor play at young ages is encouraged. These places do in fact exist in the US. The common reaction to this is that you can't just get up and move your family. We'll this is still a choice and we all set priorities on what is important.
- bartrab 3y ago
  Do you have any strategies for finding such places?
  - mlrtime 3y ago
    I'd start with googling best places to raise a family and start digging in. I'm sure the lists change from year to year. I recently moved and started this way. Also, there is no utopia so the "best place to raise a family" in the US might have other negatives, you just need to prioritize.
  - jjav 3y ago
    A low-traffic (no through-traffic) suburban area with a park or parks within easy walking distance and bike paths. I can think of lots of areas like that around here (northern California) and I'm sure elsewhere. We live in such a neighborhood and it has been excellent for kids. They can walk or bike to the park in less than a minute, there are multiple playgrounds and large fields to run around.

Article was short on details, like ages and age-appropriate activities. When can I let my child roam his city neighborhood? That would be extremely helpful.

by wffurr 3y ago

Article was short on details, like ages and age-appropriate activities. When can I let my child roam his city neighborhood? That would be extremely helpful.

atoav 3y ago

If you are from the US, good luck. Here in Europe you often see kids alone in the city, either to go to school or to solve some sort of educational riddle they need to solve by finding the right place in small groups of three kids or something I went to school alone since I was 7. As far as I know in much of the US people would probably sue you if your kid went alone.

SoftTalker 3y ago
It all depends. Some towns (or parts of towns) are walkable and some are really not. In my town there are certainly young kids (i.e. elementary school age) who walk or bike to school on their own. Sometimes there are parents walking with them, but I think they do it because they enjoy a walk with their child rather than any real concern for safety. There are crossing guards at walkways where kids will need to cross busier roads. In other areas, schools are just too far away to walk, or there are other difficulties such as major roadways with a lot of traffic. Then kids ride a bus or parents take them.
wffurr 3y ago
Cambridge, MA, USA public schools will allow children to leave unsupervised starting in third grade, which is 8 turning 9. Seems like a reasonable baseline.

adrianN 3y ago

You as a parent probably know best when you can trust your child enough. Children are very different from each other, especially during the first ten years.

jazzyjackson 3y ago

That's really a matter of whether the adults in your vicinity will call child services when they spot unsupervised kids.

mlrtime 3y ago

If you're waiting for your city to change, it's too late. Your kids will have grown up. You need to move to a place where unsupervised outdoor play at young ages is encouraged. These places do in fact exist in the US. The common reaction to this is that you can't just get up and move your family. We'll this is still a choice and we all set priorities on what is important.

bartrab 3y ago
Do you have any strategies for finding such places?
- mlrtime 3y ago
  I'd start with googling best places to raise a family and start digging in. I'm sure the lists change from year to year. I recently moved and started this way. Also, there is no utopia so the "best place to raise a family" in the US might have other negatives, you just need to prioritize.
- jjav 3y ago
  A low-traffic (no through-traffic) suburban area with a park or parks within easy walking distance and bike paths. I can think of lots of areas like that around here (northern California) and I'm sure elsewhere. We live in such a neighborhood and it has been excellent for kids. They can walk or bike to the park in less than a minute, there are multiple playgrounds and large fields to run around.