Got a question for you ladies. How old is old enough to let your children play outside by themselves. Especially in the front yard. I have friends in my neighborhood who let their four year olds play outside together unattended. But I just don't feel comfortable with it....
The Six "Be's"- Gordon B. Hinckley
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
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7 comments:
Honestly, it is hard for me to say since I grew up in the country and could go wherever. My kids will probably not do that for a while. It is too dangerous. Personally, 4 is not old enough, but maybe it depends on the child, too. I do let them play in the back yard, though, but I am able to see them from the chair I sit in.
Ugh. I want to know the answer to this question too. I don't feel really comfortable letting Jacob out front alone, but at the same time I remember playing out in my front yard for hours and hours as a little girl. I know that we hear so many terrible things that happen now, but is it really worse now than it was when we were little or does it just seem like it? Either way, I'm only comfortable with the backyard. It's going to be a hard day for me when my kids think they are old enough to play alone.
I just now let Natalie ride her bike a few houses down to our neighborhood park and she's 12! I know, I know--I'm paranoid. I feel much more comfortable with my girls playing in the back yard. One of my friends told me something quite interesting the other day. She said that her husband did research for his graduate studies that included studies about whether or not there were more kidnappings etc now than there were 20 yrs ago. He found out that there are NOT more going on, but that the intense media coverage we have now makes us feel like our children are in more danger now than they would have been back then. Of course, there are more things to worry about, such as internet safety. But as far as your child being safe playing outside with some friends--the odds of them being kidnapped has not changed in the last 20 yrs. I was shocked to learn that!
Oh and I think 4 is waaay too young to be playing unattended in the front yard! That's my opinion, anyway.
Living near several unattentive parents I can safely say that 4 is too young. I don't have enough fingers to count how many times I came close to running over the neighborhood 3 and 4 year olds. One was even blindfolded and was chasing his friend out into the street.
i don't know the answer to this question either, but i do want to share that my 12 year old sister was playing outside of her house one day in the front yard and a man stopped and asked her to get in the car with him! thankfully she ran as fast as she could back inside the house and he took off in the other direction, but i've never forgotten that and it has definatly influenced my thinking on the subject! you can never be too carful, go with your instincts, they were given to you by Heavenly Father for this reason. if you're not comfortable, do not do it! and keep an eye as much as you can on those other kids, that's what i would do.
I think 4 is definitely WAY too young and personally, the front yard shouldn't be the play area. That is just asking for trouble! People drive by and it is easy for them to grab and run, you could never get to your kids as fast as they could get away. Just my paranoia on the subject surfacing here, but that is my opinion :)
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