One of those kids.... - Page 3

[mamazee]

My daughter does this kind of thing and she's 7. I don't remember when she started - if it was 5, or 6. When she started with stuff like this, we were in the vicinity. But it didn't take long before she could handle things of that nature on her own. I'm not worried about her getting snatched. I was worried that she'd get overwhelmed or distracted or something when she started but really she didn't have any problem. She loves to be able to buy things and pay for things on her own, and she loves helping me.

[tjjazzy]

i think at 5, ds1 will be able to do that for sure. at 3.5, he orders for himself at restaurants more often than not (sometimes he's feeling shy if it's a waitress he doesn't know or he's tired), does most of what he needs to do in the bathroom alone, and can be very considerate ("mom, do you want a bite?" he even saves the red snacks for me out of his little morning snack pack.) i think it just depends on the kid b/c ds2 is very dependent on mommy so far (but he's still young), whereas ds1 always has done his own thing and is very easy to reason with/eager to learn and do.
that said, there's NO WAY he's going off on his own in the theater. i'd be too paranoid.

[NicaG]

My ds is 4 and I think he could probably do that, or would be able to soon. He's naturally very outgoing and talkative and has a lot of confidence when talking to people. And he's very helpful when he wants to be (which is not that often lol). I think it really depends on the kid. I myself was very shy at that age, and I don't think I could have handled a transaction like that.

[muldey]

My dd still couldn't so that,and she's 11.She's just too shy.Getting her to order her own food is a challenge,the waitress can never hear her.Ds,8 on the other hand,would probably love to get his own popcorn,but would be too distracted by everything else.At that age I was doing everything by myself.

[loraxc]

My DD would LOVE to be asked to do this and could probably handle ordering and buying just fine. She's very outspoken. However, she would probably cut in line and she has a poor sense of direction, so I wouldn't trust her to do it politely and safely.