Playing outside (poll)

beckhamgirls · Senior Member

Playing outside (poll)

Lucy · Senior Member

Our neighborhood doesn't have many children and those that are here don't play outside, people drive like maniacs. So many reasons why I'm not comfortable with it. We do go out with them after dinner and they ride bikes in our cul-de-sac. We will every so often pop back inside for a couple minutes and leave them out there but I'm not real comfortable with it.

Lucy · Senior Member

Oh and they play in our yard unsupervised (except for me looking through the window every so often). If we had neighbors that had kids the same age I would have ko problem with Joe going over to play but not Bel.

muffy · Guru

We let Clara play in the yard alone. We live in a city house, it is small and walled in. Plus the gate at the front. She is mostly in the back yard, and it's when an adult is around inside. Lux has a very low crime rate. It is like when I was growing up in Ohio in the 70's. Of course we are cautious, but it is quite normal here to have first graders walking home from school by themselves. ( ours dont, but I do see them all the time, though there usually is more than one.) Plus we have two very yappy dogs-They are out if a child is. our male dog barks so much so that when a package needs to be delivered, the delivery person waits on the outside at the street for us to come out.

kdrew · Guru

Not in the front yard under 6. Fenced in back yard, absolutely.

I let my boys start going out front by themselves at around 6 or 7.

But we have neighbor kids who are constantly outside so they have a big buddy system going on.

We live in a safe, gated community with little traffic but I still just feel like they're too immature under 6 to be out there alone.

Now I let Sarah go out with her brothers but with lots of stipulations and I make her come in if I'm going to take a shower or something.

Where we live there are snakes and cactus to worry about too, that's a big concern out front.

Robin · Guru

I said sometimes.

Mark can go play in the fenced-in backyard whenever he wants--unsupervised. He can play in the front yard if Henry is outside with him.

We don't live in a high-traffic area either.

apies · Guru

i said sometimes.

we live at the end of a cul de sac. everyone around us has kids. there's usually at least 1 parent out there.

if they are out front without me, there are at least other kids with them, so it's like a buddy system like kdrew said.

i check on them every 10 minutes or so. they know which lamp post is their limit for how far to go and they mainly play on the sidewalks and driveways and only go in the cul de sac when they're riding their bikes or scooters.

Picture-Perfect · Guru

Hannah and Bryson are allowed out back by themselves. I always have the slider open and I check on them very frequently when B is outside. The backyard is fenced and pretty private. We do have a creek outside of the fence and if it is running I would not let either of them out there unsupervised, draw to water and all. It usually only runs in the winter so it's not much of an issue. Hannah is allowed to play out front but there are perimeters she needs to stay in, I can see the whole front yard from the living room so it's easy to see her. Our road can get very busy and people drive fast so she is not allowed anywhere near the road. Bryson is absolutely not allowed out front without supervision.

Supafly · Guru

I said hell no.

In my neighborhood, there is no way. At all. Ever.

If we lived on my ILs property right now, I would. In a neighborhood, it is unlikely unless we had a fenced in back yard where I could easily see them. Call me paranoid, but I don't think I would be ok with it at this age anywhere but the farm, and even then I do check on them a lot when we are there. (More to make sure they aren't doing something they shouldn't because they have a tendency to do things like pick unripe fruit to feed the cows and such)

beckhamgirls · Senior Member

I said "hell no" because I seem to have extreme paranoia, which Malachi thinks is ridiculous. BUT, I think my answer should have just been "sometimes." If it was just Mary Beth, I would be okay with her being in the back yard by herself. We have a 6 foot wooden privacy fence. With her and Katie though I am so worried that htey will get hurt or something. I would never let my kids out front unsupervised - it scares the crap out of me. I don't even like when they sit on the front porch by themselves when we're getting ready to leave. Again, Malachi thinks I'm being crazy.

If we lived in a gated community or at the end of a cul de sac I think I would def. feel differently. We live 1/2 a block from a pretty busy road and 3 blocks from a big university. Being in a college neighborhood, we have a big variety of the type of people and things going on. There are a lot of families, but there are also frat houses, dorms, cheap rentals, etc.

It makes me sad because I remember being 5 or 6 and running my neighborhood at all hours of the day. I would come home when it got dark, and no one really worried...I wish things were still that way.

Sonya · Guru

I said sometimes but really, only in our back yard (fenced(high) and gated). Even then I'm not cool with it.

It sounds like we live in a very similar place, Barbie.

City, universities, etc. Our street is a side street but it is very busy and people drive like idiots.

I can remember being free from the time I was 4. I just can not imagine that now.

supergrover · Guru

Here? Heck no.

When we spend time at my inlaws farm? Yes. He and Tristen can both go outside without us. There are very strict boundaries, but with it being a 3-acre property, there is still lots of room to play.

Juni · Guru

Only in a fenced backyard. They are able to do that at our house, and both sets of grandparents houses. I don't worry when they are out there. They are pretty safe - Gavin more so than Owen - and when Owen isn't Gavin is sure to come right in and tell me. Also, they are both still very honest about things so I feel like even though I'm not out there, they let me know what is going on if they start fighting. I never leave them out there and don't check on them. I'm always aware that they are there and check on them regularly.

I definitely don't feel comfortable with them playing out front by themselves but I let them sit out there when we are leaving and I am not quite ready. But that is only a couple minutes, if that. I'm not comfortable leaving them out there any longer by themselves.

CoffeeQueen · Guru

The girls can play in our backyard alone. Most times we are out there, but I have no problem with them playing out there. It is completely fenced in and locked from the inside so know one can open. They do not play out front at all. We do not have kids on our block though. I wish we did.

Juni · Guru

CoffeeQueen wrote:
The girls can play in our backyard alone. Most times we are out there, but I have no problem with them playing out there. It is completely fenced in and locked from the inside so know one can open. They do not play out front at all. We do not have kids on our block though. I wish we did.

We have gates on both sides that are locked from the inside as well.

Erin · Guru

The kids are allowed out front when we are getting ready to go somewhere, we put the garage up and "we will be right there". I let them walk down to Kiera's friends house (three doors down) by themselves the other day and it was a huge deal. I followed like two minutes later... In the summer and in the eves, we open the sliding glass to the backyard and they can come and go as they please. We back up to a private golf course, with carts coming and going, but I feel totally safe with them back there, especially since they they seem to prefer to stay underfoot are never out of our sight for more than a few minutes....

Lizzy · Guru

She can go in our yard but it is gated -
I can hear if the gate is opened- and only when I am on the first floor.

Domimom · Senior Member

We have a fenced backyard with a 6 foot fence so I let Dominic play out there by himself. I will not let him go outside in the front or to a neighbors house. For one we don't live in a good neighborhood and for 2 I am super paranoid and don't know if I will ever feel comfortable letting him go outside! Maybe we will see if we move, I don't know, you just hear about so many kids getting kidnapped, it terrifies me.

Juni · Guru

Domimom wrote:
We have a fenced backyard with a 6 foot fence so I let Dominic play out there by himself. I will not let him go outside in the front or to a neighbors house. For one we don't live in a good neighborhood and for 2 I am super paranoid and don't know if I will ever feel comfortable letting him go outside! Maybe we will see if we move, I don't know, you just hear about so many kids getting kidnapped, it terrifies me.

See, I don't have the kidnapping fear. Honestly, I think the majority of kidnappings are not random things - typically custodial fights, that kind of stuff. I'm more concerned with their carefree attitude. Playing tag and running from each other without realizing they are running down the sidewalk and could get hit from a car coming out of a driveway. Those are the things I worry about.

Picture-Perfect · Guru

I definitely have the kidnapping fear. I watch the news too much I think. We live in what I feel is a safe neighborhood but it's definitely a present fear, there are some very sick people in this world.