are they to young??

It is so sad that we have to be so careful with little kids these days. I never remember the same hysteria when I was small and had the run of a major city because nobody really cared. I went everywhere as a preteen and managed to make it. Of course I am a male and I suppose that makes some difference. Yours is a tough call. But the store is very close and if you are certain that the girls will stay together, than I would give it a try. Maybe you could even watch out the window as they walk or something. At least at first and make sure nobody is wandering. It is so wrong that we even have to talk about this.

The advantage of allowing them to do it by themselves is that you are teaching them to be independent, but, you have to make sure that the place is safe and no one will harm them, vehicles are some of the problems and we need to teach them how to croos streets and to have presence of mind when they are out.

Ohh thats a toughy..I dont think Iw ould personally..But it also depends on how the crime rate is..and how longhave you lived there and how comfortable i would be with it..I am a over protective mom as it is.lol..but i remeber me when i was around 9 i was aloud to ride my bike miles away from home..because wel there just wasnt anything to worry about and child abductirs and molesters werent that popular as they are today..but if you are gonne let them i would suggest giving them each a whistle to blow just in case..and maybe pepper spray..u just cant never be too prepared..right?

This is something that I certainly allowed my children to do. It's also a pet peeve with me when people are paranoid about letting children do such things. I think it's important that you know your own children and their level of responsibility/maturity. I also think it's important for a parent to foster these same characteristics by allowing activities such as you are describing. It's equally important to start out small and work up to more mature tasks. Some children at the ages you mention would not be able to handle this task while others are well past that level and can handle even more mature ones. I'd let your gram know how you feel and why you think that your children are okay to do this and ask why she thinks they are not. When someone simply states that a particular age is more appropriate I'd say they are not looking at the individual child and to me that is the most important part.

well they are young for sure ..i think your granny is right ..just wait for year or two ... to let them go alone