alphieb said:
I think it depends on the maturity of the child. I used to ride my bike all over the neighborhood too. He is not allowed to leave the block. I know every single neighbor on this block.
The child's maturity is indeed a large factor in the equation. And your neighbors aren't the ones to be judging that - YOU are. Obviously, you feel he is mature enough to cross the street on your block, so no one else should have a problem with it.
I think it is ridiculous that kids just can't go out and play and be kids anymore. This is why kids are overweight now. They are forced to stay in doors by their over protective parents. Therefore, they just eat and play game cube and don't see the light of day. That is unhealthy.
So, so true. This is why I want to be able to buy property that will allow us to have a large, fenced in back yard. That way, until they are mature enough to go to their friend's house on their own, they have a safe place to play outside.
A cop came to my door and said something about my son being two houses down and crossing a non busy street. He told me he saw him look both ways, but he said someone could kidnap him. What is this world coming to? I can't even let my son go outside........
A fear of kidnapping isn't unhealthy, but some people just need to lighten up. If you're watching your son through the window, then the worst case scenario would be someone able to snatch him quickly, but you'd most likely make it outside fast enough to get a license plate number.
Verizon Wireless has this great little cell phone for kids. They can only make outgoing calls to up to four numbers that their parents program into the phone, plus there's a dedicated button for calling 911. I think more wireless providers would be wise to jump on that bandwagon, because I think every child that's old enough to go outside alone should have one...especially if there is a GPS embedded in the phone, so 911 operators can track the child's location if they call.
By the way, thank you for your input.
No problem! Threads like this are beneficial to me as well, since I'll be a parent myself someday and will have to make these sorts of decisions.