melissa
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,912
Jun 25, 2014 20:45:00 GMT
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Post by melissa on Jan 16, 2015 23:54:33 GMT
I was babysitting other people's children at 10!
It depends on the maturity of the child. I'm sure these parents know what their children are capable of. It's pretty funny. Dd travels in and out of NYC daily. She's at a ballet school there where children in that age range get themselves from school to dance several days a week. Some travel from other parts of Manhattan, taking subways, managing busy city streets. No one raises an eyebrow.
While we don't have all the information, this reminds me of Mrs. Kravitz on the old TV show Bewitched! The nosy neighbor, making all kinds of assumptions, causing trouble unnecessarily. I bet that neighbor thinks s/he did the right thing because CPS are making the parents supervise the children 24/7 now.
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Post by lucyg on Jan 17, 2015 0:05:38 GMT
I remember several years ago on the original boards, peas were talking about kids going to the movies w/o an adult when they're pre-teens. I responded that I would be okay dropping my 12 year old dd and her friends at the movie theater and then picking them up after. A pea let me know that she felt sorry for my children. It was pretty obnoxious. Can't we be sensible here and sort out true dangers or neglect from just different rules or levels of comfort with our kids. I forgot I meant to say, that is just awful. I'm sorry some idiot felt the need to say such a thing to you. And for the record, I absolutely did allow my kids to go to the movies with friends and no adult supervision from the time they were 10 or so.
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LeaP
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,939
Location: Los Angeles, CA where 405 meets 101
Jun 26, 2014 23:17:22 GMT
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Post by LeaP on Jan 17, 2015 0:26:35 GMT
My 11 year old is out getting boba and sushi with her friends as I type. My two started roaming a couple of years ago when we lived in Los Angeles. My biggest fear, and what kept me from letting them walk to school alone, was reckless drivers. The worst were parents in a rush at the elementary school drop off. Illegal u-turns, double parking and rolling stops were the norm, not the exception. I think I would have been more free range if I hadn't worried about them getting squashed like bugs. I hope that in the future cities work on pedestrian safety.
Here in Vancouver, the drivers are more mellow and the kids (11 & 13) walk to school and take public transportation at will. They really enjoy the freedom.
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,934
Location: PNW
Jul 20, 2014 21:57:23 GMT
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Post by breetheflea on Jan 17, 2015 0:27:37 GMT
We live 2 blocks from a park. If it wasn't next to some skeevy apartments I'd think about letting my 10 year old go with her 8 year old sister.
I used to go to the park ALL the time alone as a kid. The rules were if anyone else (not kids) showed up we had to go home and we weren't allowed to go near the restrooms. The park the other direction had a lot more people around but it was farther away. We were also allowed to go to the convenience store 3 blocks away to buy candy. Now I'd never let my kids do that!
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