How old must children be before they can play unsupervised in a public park?
My current answer, for my kids, is 5. We live only three blocks from a busy park in a safe, walkable neighborhood with plenty of eyes on the streetAnd by the time the twins are 5 years old (summer 2024), I think they’ll be able to walk to the park and play without my supervision.
But most American parents disagree.
On average, “Parents Say Children must be at least 10 years old to play unsupervised in their front yard, 12 years old to stay home alone for an hour, and 14 years old to be unsupervised in a public park,” Arthur Brooks wrote this month in column for Atlantic Oceanin which he urged not to “teach[ing] Your children to fear the world.”
Brooks’ advice is wise, and I hope to follow it. But I’m still concerned about letting our kids walk that walk once they’re old enough to do it – not because I’m afraid they’ll be snatched, but because I wonder If someone more paranoid than me calls the cops.
This is not an unfounded concern. Parents in America can sometimes get into legal trouble to give their children too little public freedom. In November of 2020, for example, a mother in Arizona arrested For endangering children as she allowed her 7-year-old daughter and 5-year-old friend to stay in the playground while she ran to a nearby grocery store to get one.
An adult acquaintance was leading an exercise class in the garden, so the kids had immediate recourse if something went wrong, and this was during pre-COVID vaccine, when no more people were supposed to be brought to the store if you could avoid the he-she. It’s over with mom taking “A guilty plea deal, where the prosecutor drops the charges if you attend a parenting class.” But as of last month, she said He was still fighting To keep its name from the Central Registry in Arizona, a list of people “With confirmed reports of child abuse or neglect” who are not allowed to work with children.
“How do I convince others that it is normal for children to explore the world on their own?“
This is an exceptional case, yes. But it is not a unique case. Free Ring Kids Author Lenore Skenzie Similar documents Stories with disturbing regularity: 8- and 10-year-olds escort home by firefighters after someone called the cops to play outside in their dead-end street. the mother who was tried (And thankfully, he was acquitted) of the felony of abandoning a child for letting her 12-14-year-olds stay home under the supervision of several neighbors for a few days while she and her husband were away. the mother who was questioned by Police for allowing their 5- and 7-year-olds to pick up trash on a street several blocks from their home.
Three states – Texas, Utah and Oklahoma – have Laws passed Protecting parents from legal scrutiny, to quote Texas bill“Allow[ing their] That the child participate in independent activities appropriate and typical of the child’s maturity level, physical condition, developmental abilities, or culture.” That’s great, but I don’t live in Texas — and even if I did, there is no guarantee that local police officers and neighbors would be aware of this protection (or agree that it should be obtained).
The inability to predict or determine how others will respond to my children who exercise independence is why this (unlikely, but entirely possible) scenario worries me.
I can teach my children not to fear the world, to be responsible, and to take appropriate precautions for other potential dangers they may encounter as they walk into the garden – chiefly, being hit Large truck or SUV It has a long square front that makes it difficult to see small objects and easy to smash.
But how can I teach everyone that letting kids walk in a historic neighborhood designed for walking is perfectly fine? How do I convince others that it is normal for children to explore the world on their own? This roaming in a block –or a mile or more—Before the age of ten is not only good, it is good, something that children can totally do with a little parental preparation and something. should In the process of becoming competent and confident adults. who – which even with The last few years increase in some types of crimes (homicides in particular), violent crime (including murder) significantly less Than it was when I was a kid. My kids walking to the park will be safer from violence than I would have been at the same age in the early ’90s.
I understand, of course, the many reasons other parents have for keeping their kids in a tighter collar. Some of these concerns (such as large trucks) are more real than others (Like a strange kidnapping), but I understand them all. With parental concerns and a built environment designed for grown-ups looted in ever larger cars, We made a world It is in many places objectively inhospitable to independent children. And since the kids were called indoors, confined first to the building, then the patio, then the backyard, and then the open concept kitchen-living room combination where Mom can literally see you at all times, we’ve forgotten that the world doesn’t have to be this way.
We made it weird for kids to walk for a walk, so it’s weird to see kids walking for a walk. And that’s exactly part of the reason, though I still worry that I’ll end up with the next mom who’s questioning a cop, I want to let my kids walk those three blocks and play alone in the park long before they turn 14.
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