I admit it. I'm overprotective of my children, always have been. I've been told so by others before as well.
I've read Protecting The Gift before and 95% of the time I go with my gut.
My oldest son will be 7 in October and my youngest will be 5 in November. We live in a smaller town of about 12,000 people. Oddly enough, even though it's so small, there's a "good" part of town and a "bad" part of town. We live in the good part. The two parts of town are seperated by the city center. In the bad part, there's a fair amount of B&E's, grow op busts, drug dealing, etc. A couple of years ago we had someone drive down our road in the middle of the night and throw rocks through car windows.....but that's about the worst thing I can think of that has happened near our house. No murders, no abductions, very little crime. People drive WAY too fast down our road and despite repeated phone calls to the police, nothing has changed. A couple of years ago we had a sow and 2 cubs in our backyard at 11 am and there was a cougar in a backyard a few hours down in broad daylight last year. We also have coyotes, deer, and elk that roam the neighbourhood but have never seen them during the day.
My son has a few friends that live nearby. His friends are the same age. They are allowed to ride their bikes by themselves within a few week radius. They are allowed free roam of the neighbourhood. The same age kids are allowed to play in the playground at the soccer field while their siblings play soccer (it's within eye sight but close to a river).
My oldest son has never rode his bike alone before. We frequently go for bike rides as a family and it's quite safe if you take the right route. We just go down to the next street down which is very quiet. Lots of houses, but very little traffic (they all use our street!). He is allowed out in the backyard by himself, but doesn't have free roam of the neighbourhood. Last night at soccer we let himself play at the park with some other kids, but it was because we were at the closest field to the playground and I could see him. He did fine, came back because he scraped his knee.
My oldest son (6) is very mature for his age. BUT this is the one thing that worries me. He loves everyone. We've talked a little about stranger danger...but I don't want him to fear everyone because most of the time when it comes to abductions and such, it's not a stranger. He is also a helper. He loves helping people, loves giving people things, always concerned if he sees someone upset/crying/etc. He walks to bus stop in the morning with the neighbours who are 11 and 8. I walk to the bus stop to pick him up after school because the road is busy by the afternoon.
My youngest son (4) has no fear of ANYTHING! Earlier this year in preschool they were learning about "stranger danger" and they were given the scenario along the lines of "a man was asking the kids to come see his new video game, but he was just waiting to kidnap whichever child came over". He got SOOO angry and was yelling "No he wasn't!!! He was just trying to be nice. I WOULD go over and see his video games!!". He is allowed to play outside with his brother in the backyard and sometimes when I'm in the backyard, both kids have ran around to the front yard to turn on the sprinkler for me.
I do have frequent panic attacks and a fair amount of anxiety, and I don't want to pass that onto my kids. I want them to be able to enjoy their independance and be able to safely explore the neighbourhood by themselves at some point in time. I want them to know how to be safe. How to try prevent anything that might happen, to know what to do if something should happen. I want them to be aware of what could happen, but I don't want them to fear everyone/everything.
I dont know where I'm going with this post. I just don't know what to do. Let go of my fears and anxieties or...........
I've read Protecting The Gift before and 95% of the time I go with my gut.
My oldest son will be 7 in October and my youngest will be 5 in November. We live in a smaller town of about 12,000 people. Oddly enough, even though it's so small, there's a "good" part of town and a "bad" part of town. We live in the good part. The two parts of town are seperated by the city center. In the bad part, there's a fair amount of B&E's, grow op busts, drug dealing, etc. A couple of years ago we had someone drive down our road in the middle of the night and throw rocks through car windows.....but that's about the worst thing I can think of that has happened near our house. No murders, no abductions, very little crime. People drive WAY too fast down our road and despite repeated phone calls to the police, nothing has changed. A couple of years ago we had a sow and 2 cubs in our backyard at 11 am and there was a cougar in a backyard a few hours down in broad daylight last year. We also have coyotes, deer, and elk that roam the neighbourhood but have never seen them during the day.
My son has a few friends that live nearby. His friends are the same age. They are allowed to ride their bikes by themselves within a few week radius. They are allowed free roam of the neighbourhood. The same age kids are allowed to play in the playground at the soccer field while their siblings play soccer (it's within eye sight but close to a river).
My oldest son has never rode his bike alone before. We frequently go for bike rides as a family and it's quite safe if you take the right route. We just go down to the next street down which is very quiet. Lots of houses, but very little traffic (they all use our street!). He is allowed out in the backyard by himself, but doesn't have free roam of the neighbourhood. Last night at soccer we let himself play at the park with some other kids, but it was because we were at the closest field to the playground and I could see him. He did fine, came back because he scraped his knee.
My oldest son (6) is very mature for his age. BUT this is the one thing that worries me. He loves everyone. We've talked a little about stranger danger...but I don't want him to fear everyone because most of the time when it comes to abductions and such, it's not a stranger. He is also a helper. He loves helping people, loves giving people things, always concerned if he sees someone upset/crying/etc. He walks to bus stop in the morning with the neighbours who are 11 and 8. I walk to the bus stop to pick him up after school because the road is busy by the afternoon.
My youngest son (4) has no fear of ANYTHING! Earlier this year in preschool they were learning about "stranger danger" and they were given the scenario along the lines of "a man was asking the kids to come see his new video game, but he was just waiting to kidnap whichever child came over". He got SOOO angry and was yelling "No he wasn't!!! He was just trying to be nice. I WOULD go over and see his video games!!". He is allowed to play outside with his brother in the backyard and sometimes when I'm in the backyard, both kids have ran around to the front yard to turn on the sprinkler for me.
I do have frequent panic attacks and a fair amount of anxiety, and I don't want to pass that onto my kids. I want them to be able to enjoy their independance and be able to safely explore the neighbourhood by themselves at some point in time. I want them to know how to be safe. How to try prevent anything that might happen, to know what to do if something should happen. I want them to be aware of what could happen, but I don't want them to fear everyone/everything.
I dont know where I'm going with this post. I just don't know what to do. Let go of my fears and anxieties or...........
