whats with all the kids running around with no parental supervision?

[luvsviola]

Originally Posted by jac1976 Did I know EXACTLY where he was? No. Did I know I he was somewhere on my block? Sure. Did I know where or what he ate for lunch? Nope, not until he came home and told me.

Wow. I can't imagine ever being like this. But I also can't imagine any of my neighbors feeding my kid lunch without asking me first if it was ok if kiddo stayed for lunch. Granted, no one lets their kids play in the front yard without being out with them either.

[BNC]

Originally Posted by luvsviola Wow. I can't imagine ever being like this. But I also can't imagine any of my neighbors feeding my kid lunch without asking me first if it was ok if kiddo stayed for lunch. Granted, no one lets their kids play in the front yard without being out with them either.

This. As a parent, if i invited a kid to stay for lunch, i would insist they call home to make sure it was ok.

[mamaerica]

My 5 year can play in the back yard, but there is no way in world I'm going to cut him loose and let him go play wherever he wants, or in some house where I don't know where he is. No way, no how.

[JennTheMomma]

My 5 year old is allowed to go to the neighbors house by himself. I know them, he knows he isnt allowed to cross the street, he checks in, he listens to others and I can hear him. Maturity level and where you live can make a big difference

[KaleidoscopeEyes]

i guess it really depends on where u live. i remember being 5 and being gone for hours when i was little. i knew what the boundaries were i wasnt suppose to cross and when i was suppose to be home.

id let my kids play in the neighborhood in a smaller town esp if other families allowed it as well. i dont know if i would feel that comfortable in a huge city though. ds1 has been able to run around and play since around age 8 and i let ds2 and dd play in the front yard now.

[isabelsmummy]

Originally Posted by BNC Really, you would be ok with your 7 year old out, unsupervised for 5 hours alone? Having to go door to door (to houses where you dont know the people) to find her?

Alone, as in by herself? But with other kids? Probably. There aren't that many kids in our immediate block but if I imagine the street where my parents still live, it all sounds rather normal. They aren't 'unsupervised' so much as not supervised by their own parents. There are adults around gardening, washing cars and they keep an eye on things.

You might be thinking all 4 of those families don't know what they are doing and I'm just suggesting that perhaps they do. I could be wrong, they all could be delinquent parents but get to know them and find out. It sounds like a friendly neighbourhood.

[Wanderlust]

That drives me nuts! On our housing area on base, there is a child molestor or molestors (haven't found him yet) who has tried to abduct unattended children. There were also two little girls who got molested by this man or men

I take my sons to a park here everyday and I'm amazed to see parents still let their 3-6 year olds go to the parks by themselves.

DH and I were at a park once and the parents saw that we were there so they just dropped their 5 year old girl and 7 year old son off. Gah!

[AbbieJack]

IDK but it drives me NUTS! I can not stand all of the kids running amok with no supervision. I don't understand allowing your children to run all over the neighbor hood and not knowing A) what they are doing , B) who they are with and C)WHERE THEY ARE! . I would be absolutely mortified if I had to go door to door looking for my children. My DD is almost 7 and she is not even allowed to walk the trash down the drive way with out me standing at the door watching her. She is also not allowed to play outside alone and neither is my 3 year old. It is not that I do not trust her as she is very trust worthy , its the fact that I do not trust other people . I'm sorry but I would not trust any 7 year old with a younger sibling alone outside alone and especially not with a group of other kids with wide age rages . Kids can come up with some pretty dumb things to do.

[BNC]

Originally Posted by JennTheMomma My 5 year old is allowed to go to the neighbors house by himself. I know them, he knows he isnt allowed to cross the street, he checks in, he listens to others and I can hear him. Maturity level and where you live can make a big difference

This is different. He is 1 house away, and you can hear him. These kids are rarely anywhere near their own home, and definitely out of ear shot.

[BNC]

Originally Posted by isabelsmummy Alone, as in by herself? But with other kids? Probably. There aren't that many kids in our immediate block but if I imagine the street where my parents still live, it all sounds rather normal. They aren't 'unsupervised' so much as not supervised by their own parents. There are adults around gardening, washing cars and they keep an eye on things. You might be thinking all 4 of those families don't know what they are doing and I'm just suggesting that perhaps they do. I could be wrong, they all could be delinquent parents but get to know them and find out. It sounds like a friendly neighbourhood.

There are no adults out on our street 99% of the time. I know this because i let the 3 and 4 year olds play with these kids on a regular basis....the baby and i walk up and down the street...over and over...while they play. There is one family with 5 girls... 10, 8, 6, 4, and 1 who have lived there for as long as we have owned the house (5 years) and i have NEVER seen either parent or other adults near that house.

My immediate neighbor occasionally screams for her daughter from their front window, but is never outside, the blinds are down, and she locks her house when her daughter leaves, so the kid has to stand at the door knocking when she wants to go home.

And the other familie, both live around he corner (but on the same block, just behind) and they are always on our side of the block...so it is impossible for their parents to see them, an unless they are screaming, hear them.