How old do you think your child should be before you let them hang out with there friends? alone?

Question

my son is 10 but in 5th grade how old should a kid be to be out playing and going like 10 blocks on there own without a parent??? even and how can i not be nervous???? he has a cell but still nervous...

Answer 1

I live in a safe neighborhood and my parents would kick me and my brother out and make us go play with our friends all the time. When we were 8 we could only go into the yard by ourselves but by 10 we were allowed to walk to the parks ourselves too. I'd been biking over half a mile to school every day since I was 7.

Answer 2

i hang out with my guy frenemies up the road and sometimes i bring a walkie talkie or a cell phone and im 11 but i started 2  hang out with them when i was 10

Answer 3

10 is a little young for playing that far away.  I would however, let my 10 year old hang out along our street, maybe 8 houses right and left of us, but that's it.  Also, things were different when us old folk were kids (20+ years ago).  It's not the same nowadays - kids are growing up too fast and the parents are more eager to get rid of them.  Yes, go play a mile away so I can have some peace and quiet.  I agree if your kid is responsible and knows right from wrong and there may be another adult at the other end, and your neighborhood is safe playing down the street is ok.  But don't let your kid have the run of the neighborhood whenever he feels like it.  I think have him out of grade school first.

Answer 4

16.

Answer 5

I want to understand your anxiety about letting go, but I don't think you have reason to be so worried. You seem consumed with fear about allowing your child some freedom. I think children nowadays are too sheltered. We're raising a generation of wimps. We're talking about ten blocks here (what is that, a half-mile?)...that's not very far, especially when you've already given him a cell phone (at ten?!). I don't see any problem with a ten-year-old boy or girl walking ten blocks to hang out with a friend at their house, assuming the other child is similarly responsible as your son...and as long as there is a adult or older sibling around to check in on them. I also wouldn't have a problem with a ten-year-old meeting up with a friend at the library, the park, the pool, the rec center or the mall and doing some things together without direct parent supervision.

I'm thinking back to my childhood and all the wonderful things I did at ten and I look with dismay at the lack of freedom children have today to go places and do things on their own when they desire. It seems nearly everything has to be planned and almost anything has to involve parents. Why?! This attitude has contributed to the rise in obesity among our children; so many people seem so fearful of strangers that they're going to extreme lengths to protect them. Sorry, Tommy, mommy's so deathly afraid of you being snatched that she won't allow you to go outside and have fun; stay inside, play with your Xbox and get fat...here, have some cookies...mommy loves you!

If you've raised your child responsibly and he understands right from wrong then I think there is far less to fear than you imagine. You've got to learn to let him make his own decisions and accept the consequences of his actions...even at this age. The media has unfortunately brainwashed us to the point where we believe that there are strangers hiding behind every bush ready to spirit our children away. Balderdash! Empirical studies say otherwise!

I think you should find this book at your local library or bookstore, "A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting," and give it a thorough read. I think you might see yourself in the book...and perhaps you'll discover your son can live without the umbilical cord.

http://www.amazon.com/Nation-Wimps-High-...

Sometimes the truth hurts, folks, get used to it.

Answer 6

I wont let my 12 yr old son go 10 blocks with out me, but I do let him hang out with friends in our subdivision. He has a 1 block radius and has to physically come and check in every 1/2 hour. I must approve of the friends as well ( including there parents). Please keep in mind I am very strict. The state law varies state to state. Indiana says as long as your child can care for himself and knows what to do and what not to do then there is no set age for a child to be alone. I would not let him go ten blocks from home with out an adult.

Answer 7

I am a guidance conselour and I agree with you that you should be nervous. Children should at least be twelve to hang out alone with there friends. The law states twelve years of age. Somebody can steal your child or he can get hurt.

Answer 8

the kid is old enough...specially with a cell.............but make sure he still asks for permission to go (although at that age i was aloud out by myself and i just had to leave a note.).....he;s old enough to know right from wrong....and he needs some wiggle room....................but make sure he knows that you have to know where he is at all times.......like going over to a firends house then going to another firends hosue he has to tell you).......this gives him good communication skills...learns to earn trust....and makes him mature a bit................relax...

Answer 9

Your 10 yr old has a cell phone?! Wow...I dont think he is old enough to be goin 10 blocks by himself. I would at take him to the friends house and I also think that you really should look at the face there are 12 and 13 yr olds on here everyday pregnant so I would say they have to be in a group until they are at least 16 when without parents. Anything can happen in two blocks and he is only 10 thats nothing for a full grown man to grab him and push him into a vehicle or something. I think there should still be parents around.

Answer 10

Think if you believe he's old enough to babysit a small child.  If he is.....he might be ok on his own.  I'm thinking 10 is too young and 13 or 14 might be more appropriate.  This is an age of terrible peer pressure when your son probably doesn't yet have the self esteem to make difficult decisions that could make his friends mad or make him look uncool.  I'd say no and suggest they come to YOUR house while you are there and you'll bake them some cookies or something.  Make your house the coolest on the block so you can always supervise and you son doesn't miss out on the fun.

Answer 11

I am exactly the same way as a mom. Its scary.....My son is 10 and I will let him go a block away to the parkonly if he is with his friends. But 10 is kind of a lot.

Answer 12

It depends on where you live...I probably wouldn't let my kid go that far by themselves with their friends...maybe when he is 11 or 12.

He is a boy...boys do some pretty stupid things at that age (I know, because my brother did his share of crazy things at that age), and besides that, with all of the pedophiles around, do you think he would know what to do if he was every approached...

Maybe let him go 1-3 blocks WITH friends, but not farther...