I have a fenced in yard, but I'm still too nervous to let them play outside alone. I feel terrible when I have lots of things to do inside and can't let them play outdoors alone for long periods of time.

I will let dd play outside alone only if I am in the kitchen and can see her.The minute I don't see her she either comes inside or I go outside.It sure is hard chasing after her and toting around ds.But the good news is he took his first steps today!!!!

Wow Amanda, that's great! :) Congrats Cannon!

We have a fenced backyard and I still don't let the kids out by themselves. But they are still pretty small 3.5 years and under. I don't know when I will let them play outside by themselves. Probably not for a few years.

We have a fenced in back yard, the gate is locked shut, they can only come back into the house. So I let me kids go outside all the time in the summer. They are now 3,4 and 7. I am also always in the living room, which is the door they enter and exit the backyard from, or the kitchen, whos window (large) faces the back yard. So, I may not be in the yard with them, but they are always within my sight.

My ds won't play outside alone. He wants me right there playing with him. I guess in a way, that's a good thing. But when I need to clean the floors or something, I kick him outside (only if the weather is nice) and he does really good sticking close to the house playing dumptrucks or something. But after 10 or so mins, he comes looking for me. Not bad since he's only 2 1/2. We're in the middle of 5 acres- so it's not like I have to worry about him being abducted- and we're so far off the road, I'd catch him long before he made it down the driveway.

Laura

Dss is 9 and can play in the yard at the shore house alone-pool is locked and yard is fenced, but even then he is checked on every few minutes-he's very loud and I know there is a problem if it gets quiet. Our new place in not fenced yet, so unless he is on the front porch-natural borders-he is with us.

I must be the "bad mom"

My son is 7 and plays in the front yard and street with freinds by himself. We look out on him every 15 min. or so. Daughter is 3 and plays outside in the fenced back yard, last summer by herself, this spring with her 20 mo. sister. We keep the door cracked to hear any screaming/crying. And DD#1 can go in the front if her brother wants to keep an eye on her (means play with her)

To explain a little our street is short, and goes nowere so mainly just people on the bolck drive on it.

And my son is the ONLY one in his class that walks to school, the ones that don't ride the bus get a ride from someone. We live right next to the school.

I let mine play outside without my being with them fairly early...it was a LLOOOOONNNNNGGGGGG time ago ROFL, my "baby" is 28 and hangs high steel, if that tells you anything, but I had a distinct advantage in that every neighbor I had was at least 70 and they all adored my kids. My kids couldn't get away with a thing LOL and if anyone had tried to abduct them, those little old ladies would have beaten them to death with their canes! In fact, one of them DID whack the tar out of a substitute mail carrier who offered my son a piece of candy LOL!

It all depends on alot...where you live, etc...When I was a young, all the neigborhood kids would play outside by ourselves...without parents. Here are some personal stories that may make you think twice.

I know someone who let their kids out in the front yard with cousins(5-7yrs old)all the time, because they were right inside within ear shot. She heard screaming and went to see what was wrong...when she got outside, she saw Santa Claus running into a van!
That's right! SANTA CLAUS! A man dressed in a Santa suit came up to the kids and showed them toys to try to get them in his van, but thank goodness they didn't....only because her son already had that toy, that's what he was yelling...He was screaming, "I already have that toy!" and was all upset...that's when she came outside to see what was the matter...

Sorry to scare anyone, but you have to be careful!

I have had someone "stalk" me for a few hours...basically I lived across the street from the high school. And when I was around 9-11yrs old, I went across the street to go meet friends for a football game..But before, I was doing some stupid cheerleading and stomping my feet, and some guy in a car asked me why I was kicking dirt at his car....then I remembered like an hour later seeing him again in his car, but on the other side of the highschool (it took up a whole block) staring in my general area..so I thought nothing of it until he starting talking to me through the fence on the other side of the HS, but I pretended I didnt hear him. As I walked home, he pulled up next as I was a house a way from home, and I can't remember what he said Istarted running and I saw my brother sitting on the ledge in the drive way, and I yelled to him, "RUN!" and the guy zoomed off...My brother of course didn't run, because he had no clue why I was running and telling him to run, but I told him, and we hid and waited for him to come back, but he never did...THANK GOODNESS!!!

My oldest daugter will be 7 in July and she gets soooo angry with me because I will not let her outside by herself!!
In 1996 there was a 15yr old abducted OFF HER FRONT PORCH(her older sister was inside) to be found murdered and 9 months later 2 sisters (15 and 12) were abducted off their FRONT LAWN only to be found murdered and the killer(s) still have yet to be caught!! This makes me scared to death to let my girls out of my sight! My "little" sister is 12 so if we are visiting my parents I will let her go with my sister. We live in an apartment complex (we do have a secure/locked gate at the only enterance/exit) and she wants to go to the playground by herself or with friends but I cannot bring myself to let her go without me or an adult. It just scares me to think that something like that happened in my city (Fredericksburg, VA-Spotsylvania County), which isn't very big, and they are still not any closer to finding the killer then they were 5 yearas ago! Do you all think I'm being to overprotected?? I'm a single parent to my 2 girls (6 and 2) and they are my world, I can't help but keep them close!!
~Kheli

We live in a very small town and our's played outside by themselves by the time they were 4-ish or so. We had a fenced, locked backyard though. When they got older ofcourse they only wanted to play "out front"!

My boys are eight and nine and I didn't let them outside alone until last year. They are allowed in our fenced (six foot cedar) back yard with my dog, Gypsy, in attendance. Woe be it to ANYONE who hurts Gypsy's boys! She is a sweetheart, but her protective instincts are very, very strong. I also check on them every five or ten minutes. They are usually in the walnut tree, pretending to shoot bad guys with their cap guns.

When I was nineteen, a friend whom I had babysat (she was twelve) was abuducted with a buddy and both were found murdered a couple of days later. Needless to say, I am very paranoid about weirdos--even more so since the real weidos usually look very normal.