potentially hazardous geographical features...

[hildare]

i'm curious about how other parents deal/dealt with this.. anything from living on a highway or a cliff or by the ocean.  posting here rather than family safety b/c i'm interested in responses from parents of a wide range of children's ages and geographies, and i'm interested in responses in parenting approaches dealing with this.  hoping for some peace of mind from this, too.  thanks, all!

[Honey693]

We have a pretty busy road in our backyard. DD1 is not allowed to play outside by herself ever (She's 2.5 and even though I can see the entire backyard from the living room window, just no), we put a privacy fence alone the side of the yard that borders the road and we typically play in the front yard.

[Peony]

Well, we get mountain lions and bear coming right by our house. I don't know how often the lions come by, there are usually sightings multiple times a year, and the bears can be daily depending on the year/season. The last two summers have been really bad with bear problem. One tore apart a car one street over in broad daylight last summer. I don't allow the 4y to play alone outside, she can with the 8y who has been schooled on animal safety. And no play around dusk or evening hours without an adult present since the bears become really active then. I try to find a line between being too cautious and allowing some freedom. We live in a regular subdivision out of town, the edges back up to nothing but wilderness near the mountains. We personally make our house as unattractive as possible to bears, no bird feeders, grills burned off, no outdoor food, all trash stored inside the garage, but neighbors don't always and because of the open space behind our house, they often roam through our side yard anyway. 

[hildare]

Originally Posted by Peony 

. One tore apart a car one street over in broad daylight last summer.

like, the OUTSIDE?  wowsers. 

[hildare]

Originally Posted by Honey693 

We have a pretty busy road in our backyard. DD1 is not allowed to play outside by herself ever (She's 2.5 and even though I can see the entire backyard from the living room window, just no), we put a privacy fence alone the side of the yard that borders the road and we typically play in the front yard.

we're in a somewhat similar situation, which is why the question.. but at what age would you forsee allowing independent outside play?  (we're nowhere near that but it's nice to think about)... 

we live on a river that's kind of down a very steep embankment.  i used to tell people who were sharing their concerns with me that it was about the same as living next to a highway, right?  we've gotten lots of rain lately and i think i'm making myself overly fearful....  hoping to hear from other people that these are just things to deal with and not freak out over.

[4evermom]

I'm pretty cautious about water having grown up with all the stories of cousins in my mom's generation who drowned in ponds...  They were generally older kids, not toddlers.  

We are on a deceptively busy street (quiet at some times and busy during rush hour).  Ds was always good about it.  I think growing up on a busy street made him more conscious at a young age of the street.  He never just wandered in cluelessly like some other young toddlers and preschoolers.  He'd occasionally put his foot in to tease me but responded well to being told "watch for cars."  That phrase worked better than saying don't go in the street because he did like to tease.  

The dangerous time, imo, is when they get a little older, when they think they can cross the street on their own (or play by the river) and want to exert their independence.  It's when your guard is down because you think they know the rules and the dangers and they have been good about staying away.  

[chattyprincess]

I grew up in central California and from a young age (as in I cannot even remember not being told this) we were warned not to play in the canals. farm country that had huge concrete canals running all through the town that the farmers would have the resevor opened up in case of drought/dry times and have the water brought to the farms, it would rush down the dry canal beds REALLY INSANELY FAST and if you were in the beds, wash you out with it! They were very very tall with almost straight sides. They were fenced in etc and no one lived on them or backed onto them (city ordinance) but still as a child almost every time we drove by them we were told to never go in them etc. I think someone literally would have had to shove me in to make me go in. We had discussions in school about what if someone was in one and needed to get out. (tell them to wait and not move, go run to the nearest store/etc and explain, get a grownup.)

I think the practical side of it needs to be discussed, when it is anything dangerous, we live in a very busy suburb and dd has known about the road since very young. When they are little they should be told "no" firmly/sternly and led away and saying somethign like "we cannot be near there it is danger!" in a very stern voice. Children understand firmness, and tone of voice very young. Then as they are older and able to talk you can say why its dangerous etc, Just always step up the teaching of why its dangerous and how to be safe around the dangerous area. I am sure some people won't like the use of the word danger but I think its necessary they need to understand that this is serious and that you mean business.

[nextcommercial]

I grew up within two houses of a commuter train in Chicago, and then very close to one in St Louis.  I think common sense takes over until kids get older.  (then common sense just evaporates)  I was fine with the trains until 4th grade.   Then, I got very, very dangerous.   

My cousin lives on the Tennessee river.  She's a basket case about the river.  I would be too... Rivers are so much scarier than trains.  

[childsplay]

We lived on a sailboat when our kids were younger (infant to school age). At sea, or on achor, or even at marinas, the biggest danger was falling off the boat and drowning, which could happen in a wink, especially with toddlers. From where I sit now, it seems scarier, but back then when we were living it, it was just life. The children adapted to the enviroment very quickly, they lived in lifevests, were often harnesses on lengths of rope anchored to the mast if we were occupied and couldn't keep a close enough eye on them. We had netting around the entire boat so they could run around on deck and not slip under the lifelines into the water, and we had non negotiable rules that they had to follow if they were on deck.

[childsplay]

We grew up with a river in our backyard and I'm sure my Mother had more than a few panic attacks. (Although I was the first to fall in and I was 12 by then and it kind of served me right : )

But when we were small she nailed boundary markers to the trees , just like we had at school. They were bright orange and at our eye level (we'd have been 6 or so). She claims they worked .

Quote:

Originally Posted by hildare 

we're in a somewhat similar situation, which is why the question.. but at what age would you forsee allowing independent outside play?  (we're nowhere near that but it's nice to think about)... 

we live on a river that's kind of down a very steep embankment.  i used to tell people who were sharing their concerns with me that it was about the same as living next to a highway, right?  we've gotten lots of rain lately and i think i'm making myself overly fearful....  hoping to hear from other people that these are just things to deal with and not freak out over.

[mommariffic]

Right now we live in a fairly urban area and the street traffic can be busy at times but the problem is not the traffic, it's the SPEEDERS. I won't let DD out in the front without me and I'm sure to let her know if she goes too far...we also live on the "cliff" overlooking Manhattan BUT our yard is completely fenced in -- if we are gardening the cliff (we have fruit trees back there) DD is with me and only allowed to play on the first level. 

We used to live in bear country but didn't worry because DD was far too young to be let anywhere alone (and if we walked we took the dogs.)

[pumpkin]

We have a drainage sewer at the back of our yard. They are common here It has some bars, but at least part of DD could slip through. We put in a fence around our yard and at the same time boxed in the sewer. It has a gate and the gate is padlocked. That way we can mow the area and utilities can get access, but DD can not get near the thing.

I want to be able to have at least one zone outside where we can be reasonably relaxed.

[mattemma04]

We fenced in our entire property up to the sides of our home and installed a driveway gate. I had issues with teens cutting through,and stray dogs.One dog attacked ours and I realised that could have been my kids!

The only time the kids go to the front yard is if I am working there,and they are not allowed past a certain tree. No getting the mail on our busy road. I had a friend who was hit getting the mail while holding her baby cousin. Just not worth the risk.

We have a pond and pool,but I am outside if they go to either. I always have plenty of yardwork,so when the kids are out so am I.

[Lakeeffectsnow]

Over the years, we have lived a lot of places.  Some were pretty scary and we often lived in rentals depending where DH was stationed.  One had a yard that dropped off forty feet or so to a rail road track with an unfenced canal on the other side of the tracks.  I broke out in a sweat every time we stepped outside (my kiddos were 7,6,2 and 1 at the time).  We paid to install a chain link fence around the back yard and I padlocked the gates. My oldest son is a daredevil, my oldest daughter was convinced if her brother could do it she could do it better, and my then one year old son is like a mountain goat.  I can teach them the rules and provide supervision, but ultimately there will always be a moment where I could be distracted.

I