When I was 9 the school bus dropped us kids off several blocks from my home and I would walk the rest of the way. Suburban neighbourhood (not quite like the Edward Sissorhands neighbourhood – it was a bit more lower class than that. The walk was about 7 blocks or so.
It was much longer when we moved a few blocks and had to walk 9 blocks when I was 11.
Total non-issue ofr my famly but I thought it sucked in bad weather.
That being said, it’s a different world than it was 20 years ago.
If your kid is really street-proofed and knows how to (not ever) deal with strangers, it should be okay.
Lissa - you serious? Wow. I’m a petite woman who lives in the heart of downtown Toronto and I walk everywhere! It takes 45 minutes to walk home from work. I cannot imagine being a prisoner in my own home for fear of walking down the street.
Well, I’m inclined to say I’d let him do it – I walked places by myself all the time when I was nine, and I don’t think the world has changed all that much, apart from the fact that the scary stuff is more publicized and our tolerance for risk has gone way down. However, I don’t have any kids yet, and I understand that actually being a parent changes your perspective on things.
And count me as another one who was astonished by Lissa’s post. I can’t imagine living like that, no way.
I think it depends on a lot of factors that only you can determine, such as the amount of traffic, the relative safety of the area, the maturity of the child, as well as other factors.
The fact that it would take him across at least one busy street would give me pause. And, as the father of a nine-year-old who attends a school which is only a 15-minute walk from home, I wouldn’t allow my kid to walk unattended.
I spontaneously think he should be able and allowed to walk to and from school by himself. I’ve never had a parent walk me to school, and when I was nine I went home after school and took care of myself until my parents got home three or four hours later. There were never any problems.
:dubious: Are you saying children would be less likely to do dangerous things, such as being too close to traffic, when in a group than with a bunch of friends, peer pressure and all?
Is it not true that a lot more children are hurt walking home due to traffic accidents than due to abductions? While I think that walking with a group supervised by adults would be safer, all in all, than a child alone, I would think that even less safe would be a group of children alone, due to their propensity to egg each other into doing dangerous things.
I don’t know what I’d do in this situation. I would have to weigh, on one hand, the severity of the man’s behavior, and the cost, versus the possibly added danger of walking alone.
I was riding a minibike to school when I was nine! I had also hitched a ride on the back of a milk truck all the way across town. I knew the town and surrounding woods like the back of my hand and stayed gone for HOURS alone in them.
Of course, this is today, and you have to worry about weirdos, but other than that, I say let him walk.
I stayed home alone all day during summer vacations from the time I was 9. Sometimes I’d walk to the public library (not often, as it was 15-20 blocks away and DC summers are hot!) but more frequently I’d hang out for hours in the nearby Safeway and drug store.
Now that the new school year is starting up in about a month, we’re working on arranging with three or four other families to have our kids walk together to the boys’ club.
In the meantime, I’ve been giving him a little more slack in moving around the neighborhood alone – letting him walk on his own to his friend’s house on his own, for instance – without any problems or complications at all. I’m hoping that he becomes a more street-savvy, a little at a time.
You didn’t say what kind of neighboorhood you lived in. If it is a safe neighboorhood I would let him walk alone. I have 5 children and gave them independance at an early age and don’t regret it.
At 9 you don’t need a sitter.
Hey, Gundy, Sniffs_Markers wondered about an “emergency use only” cell phone, or how feasible it would be for Little Gundy to call upon arrival.
Between the ages of 9 and 12 I could walk several blocks to my friends (or from the bus stop to home), but I was supposed to call when I got there. On the way home, I was also supposed to call when I left on the return trip. If I seemed to be taking longer than would be reasonable from my ETA standpoint, the cavalry was called and grumpy/worried adults would come looking for me.
My older two boys were latchkey kids. But, there were 2 of them. They grew up without incident. Now I have a 5 year old and there is no way I am going to let him do at 9 what your son whats to do. Part of it is that there is only one of him. The other part is that I am keenly more aware of the more evil side of the world.
However, as a side note, I would leave him in the car to run into the pizza place to pickup a pizza I had called in or something. I would only do it in the evening when the sun was down and then the outside temp would have to be below 70. My car has an alarm system and automatic locks so I feel like he would besafe there.
Eats_Crayons, I would have the Boy call me as soon as he got to the club, yes. They have a phone the kids can use, so I don’t know if it’s necessary to get him a cell phone (truth be told I kind of want to avoid that if I can…the idea just bugs me for some reason).
Isabelle, earlier in the thread I discussed the neighborhood. It’s a pretty safe area, about as safe as you can get in a major city.
No, I don’t think you are being overprotective. Even if that major street wasn’t there, you can’t trust anyone these days. I would be afraid of kidnappers and pedaphiles and all that. He is still young at 9. However, he is at the age where he wants to be treated like an adult I guess.