How old was your child before you felt comfortable allowing them to play outside

I live in the country and our house is about 200 ft away from the road. When my kids turned 4 I allowed them to play outback on our swingset/sandbox area by themselves. I can look right out the kitchen window and see them. Before I would let them outside, we would go over the rules~ no going out front, stay by the swingset unless you are coming in, when you come in use the back door. I also have a dog so if anyone were to come into my driveway or in our yard she barks and alarms me.

I have let my son play outside onhis own when hew was 2 and 3. We lived in a city that Igrew up in at a place I have felt safe my whole life. He only was ever allowed to play in the backyard. He loved in. Then we moved. We are not sure if this place is city or country. It is a little of both. I do not trust this place to allow my kids to go get in the car alone without me right behind them. We have gone to my sisters house and she has five kids. I ama little more comfy letting them play outside over there because there are so many kids. (she has neighbor kids too). We have a huge backyard not fenced off and ialways think the worst. I sit out there while they play. I hate feeling so unsafe in my own home. My kids are 6, 4 and 1. Hopefully we can move back home or find another place I fell comfy about.I walked to Kindergarten by myself. And that was around the corner from my house. My sisters and brother grew up 4 houses down from the park and we were there every day from like 6 and 7 in the morning until lunch from 5 years on up. I wish the world was a little of thesame for my kids.

We live in the suburbs in the back of a subdivision. It's not super busy here. Still for my niece to play outside alone I think she was around 6. Now if she was with other kids we let her at about 5 but that was in the back yard where it was fenced. Of course we could also hear them inside the house even with all the windows closed, our houses aren't that sound proof. Over all though it does depend on the area and also the child in question.

My son is 18 months old and he plays outside alone, but I can see him from where I work on the computer. SO I just keep an eye on him from inside and he plays in a sandpile. We live in a small town, but at the back of a fenced in property, so he could never get to the street on his own and if he wanders, he can only end up in my in-laws house.

I think it depends on the child as much as the area where you live. I lived in a small town, on a quiet street when my oldest two were little. My son (oldest child) has always been very mature, very assertive and just always seemed to know what to do when something unexpected happened. I can remember letting him play in our backyard (where I could see him even if I wasn't right with him) when he was as young as 4. My daughter (second child) was less aware of her surroundings, would panic when things didn't go as expected, was prone to wander off from us in public places and just didn't have the same maturity. God- I don't think I really ever let her outside alone. She's almost 14 now, and I still keep a pretty strong eye on her. I have to know where she's going, with whom, for what purpose & when I can expect her back. The area I live in now, is busier and I have an almost 5 year old. Because my other children are so much older and always have a gaggle of friends over, he's never not within someone's line of sight. But in a quieter area, I'd probably let him play outside without direct supervision.

We live in a small rural town that has less then five hundred people in it. This is the first year that we have allowed our children to play outside without an adult. The children range in age from five years to eight years of age. They are only allowed to play in the fenced in backyard. No one is able to get near our backyard without approaching our gate by the backdoor. The children play outside with our three dogs present so if someone were to approach the gate they would start barking. If we didn't have one or all of these things in place then we would have to rethink about allowing the children to play outside without an adult present.

My kids are grown-ups and I still don't feel safe about letting them play outside alone! Well, you know what I mean. My grandson is 6 and I will let him play outside for a few minutes alone. But, I am checking on him every 5 minutes. That is bad I know, but I feel better knowing where he is.

when we lived in the country my kids where out side at 1 1/2 and i was always watching them. but we live in the city now and i have let them out and they are older but i still watch them. we live at a cul de sack and there are cars coming in to turn around and it still can be dangours

I think it is rude to whisper to someone in front of other people. Unless you are telling them they have something on their face or their dress stuck in the back of their pantyhose. Others you just don't do it. When people whisper like that and than stare. It is common knowlegde that they are most likely talking about the person they are staring at...which is rude. So even if they wweren't talking about the person they were staring at. They will still be accused of it. I don't blame you for being upset. I would be to. But than again I would of looked staright at them and ask them what was so secrect that they are talking about. That they have to whisper after they stare at you. Yep..I would call them out on it.

I grew up in the city and until now I'm living in the city. My kids are only 3 and 1 year old and it is not yet the right time for them to play outside by themselves. Being outside brings about a lot of dangers and their safety would also be considered. I would be teaching them first how to protect themselves and how to be aware of their surroundings. So by the time they are old enough to be out on themselves, I won't be worrying too much.

we live in a really small town and a pretty safe area. My daughter is almost 5 and sometimes I let her play outside by herself. She is very smart and listens well for her age. She knows not to talk to strangers and to stay in our yard. Our neighbor sits on her back porch a good part of the day so she can see her too. I check on her every 15 or so. If we lived anywhere else I probably wouldn't do it though. I grew up here so I know a lot of the people in the area.

My youngest son is only 15 months, and I do not let him play outside alone anywhere....he is a real troublemaker too and a wanderer, so maybe I will have to keep a close eye on him until he goes off to college. My oldest son turns five in September. The first 2 1/2 years we lived in an urban area in Northern New Jersey, and I did not let him out of my sight. Then I moved to Northern Europe with hime to help out my parents. They were living on a farm, but there is a big road only 300 meters from the front door, so I was very hesitant to let him play outside alone. When he turned 3 1/2 he seemed to be getting the safety rules down, and I started letting him play outside alone while checking often. At 4 1/2 we moved to Northern Miami, and I can tell you that the safety rules were up to revision. He can play outside in our yard, only if I can see him from the window, and he is not allowed to go past our white fence. We are currently vacationing in Denmark at my father's farm, and I have to say that I am now completely comfortable with letting him play outside alone. My dad has given him one of those play Jeeps to drive around, and I have secretly spied on my son to see what he would do in certain situations. Never have I seen him get close to the road, and he just drives around on the fields and in the woods. Therefore, in my opinion I really do think that it not only has something to do with the place where you live, but also with the individual child.

That is a very good question and I think there is really a multitude of answers for it. I think it really depends upon where you live. If you are on a busy street, then you would not be too inclined to let your child out on their own. From my own personal experience, my kids were about 7 before I would let them out on their own. I would let them out and along the road to play, but I was always outside watching. cheers,

we live on a Military base so it is pretty safe, our front yard is all grass and the street that is in front of us is the end of a cul da sac, there are 2 different play grounds you can see from ou front yard, so we usally let our kids ages 8 and 5 play outside by themself since there are no cars that go up and down the street. and they can only play where we can see them from our front pourch.

It hasn't yet happened. My sons only a year old but I would happy because he doesn't run off now. (I mean when he's with my wife or I in the garden) We're cut from roads and things like that so he would be safe then. Just a watchful eye needed. ~Joey

Hi guys, my boys are 3 and 6 now and i think that they are way too young to play outside by themselves. My boys only play outside when there is an adult present or with their sitters. When i was small about 5 years old, i was allowed to play outside. Then again, that was a rural setting and everyone knows everybody else. Even the kids know everybody else! So we sort of look out for each other. It is all different now. We don't even talk to our neighbors, don't know their names, don't even bother with getting to know since everyone goes to work early in the morning and comes home late at night. In Singapore where i'm from, there are way too many immigrants now. There's just too many to feel safe. - Lyn

my son was 4 when i started letting him play in the fenced in backyard "by himself." but the back door is always wide open and i'm never farther than the kitchen (that's where the backdoor is), and the dog is always outside wth him. that way no one can come near the yard without me knowing. i also check on him every 5 minutes.