how old is old enough...

[CaraboosMama]

to be out in the backyard alone? In our neighborhood, the biggest risk would be dd (almost 3) falling down & getting hurt. We have about 2 acres & I can see dd from the window....I've started letting her be outside in a designated area by herself for about 10 minutes at a stretch. It just makes me nervous! : There are so many areas where I can just go w/ the flow. Just looking to hear what other people have done when they started letting dc play alone!

[gamecaco4]

DS is 3 and I have yet to let him go out alone. The main reason for this is because we live on a main highway where the speed limit is 55. People arent on the lookout when they are driving this area...they just have the pedal to the metal.

Another reason is because we dont have a door that exits directly to the backyard play area. I am pretty sure ds wouldnt walk out to the road, but I cant take that chance. Even if I walked him out to the back and came back in, where I can see him from a few windows, I would still freak out if I couldnt see him while he was walking around to come back in. Make sense?

That said, if we had a door exiting to the back, I was just telling dh that I would let him go play this summer while I was tending to the baby (but could still watch from the window).

[newmommy]

From what I have read on this board, it's a very personal decision (comfort level).

Personally, it will be a long time before I let DS play outdoors alone.

He is 3 and he plays with DH and I watching like hawks. Sure, we are branded as Overprotective Parents all the time, but that's OKAY with me KWIM?

My heart will let me know. I DO know, Age 4 is out (4 in July) and DH and I will see how we feel at Age 5.

[moondiapers]

We have a small backyard with a 6 ft fence. I let them out alone as soon as they quite putting things in their mouths. Timmy was around 3 years old. Honestly, the back yard is only a teensy bit bigger than our 1100 sq ft house. It's the same rectangular shape as the house as well and I can see the whole backyard from every window on that side of the house...it's almost like another room to us.

[thriftyqueen]

I have really only been comfortable for the last year even letting my DS play outside by himself. He is 5 (4 last summer). We live in a small community and have a fully fenced yard. I still check on him every couples of minutes and would never let him play outside if I wasn't watching him from inside. I am somewhat paranoid and was realy nervous last year letting him be out there.

[Cullens_Girl]

We live in a townhouse community and I let CJ (28 months) play on the patio by himself if I'm in the kitchen. It is completely fenced in and I can lock the gate. An unfenced back yard I wouldn't feel comfortable until he was much older.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I have just recently let dd go outside by herself she is 6yo. I live off the road so there is no danger of her getting hit by a car or by someone casualy driving by seeing her and abducting her. We are surrounded by woods and there is a small danger of bears or someone sneaking up thru the woods to get to her but those odds are extremely low.

There are many factors that I took into account when making the decision to let her be out by herself. At any rate I check on her every 2-3minutes to make sure she is ok.

[~Nikki~]

Our backyard is designed like a great big playpen. :P Huge fence, with a gate that locks so high up that *I* have to reach to unlatch it. I'm comfortable letting my nearly 4 year old play back there alone if I'm doing the dishes, because I can watch from the window. I haven't left her unsupervised for longer than 1-2 minutes (if I have to run to the washroom quickly). I'm not quite comfortable about it, yet.

It's odd, when I think back to my childhood, and how comfortable my parents were with letting us roam the neighbourhood. Heck, I can remember being FIVE years old, and having my mother send me down to the store with some money and a note for the cashier so that I could get her cigarettes. :

[Sharlla]

7 but we don't have a fenced in yard. Probably a lot younger than that if we did.

[onlyboys]

My boys (10, 5 and 3) play together outside all the time. If I only had one, though, I'd probably worry!

[mama2mygirl]

Nikki--My mom used to do that and I hated it! I remember cashiers lecturing ME on the evils of smoking.:
OP--My dd is four and I still don't let her play outside by herself.

[L&IsMama]

Our yard is not fenced,so I would not feel comfortable letting my kids,ages 2 and 4, out alone in the yard. That's due to the way our yard is set up,too,cause it kind of spans around the sides of the house,but if it was like some of the pp's mentioned,like a little box and fenced in then I would let them play alone outside with me able to observe from a window.

[birthjunkie27]

Mine are 6 and 4 and they play in the back yard by themselves. No fenced yard. BUT I have to be able to hear them at all times (so I keep the window or door open) and I still check on them every few minutes. We did this last year too, when they were 5 and 3. And our street isn't a busy one.

[Peony]

DD1 is 4 and plays outside in our fenced backyard by herself all the time, we didn't have a fence at the last house so i watched her, but we've been at this house since shortly after she turned 3. I don't have an issue with it at all.

[PeacefulSeams]

DS will be 4 in June. He plays out back all the time by himself. It is fenced and I can see the whole yard from the window and back door. I usually check on him every 10 minutes or so. He never goes out without the dog. She is my alarm. I don't worry to much. We live pretty far from any major streets. It is almost like living in the country.

[Dael]

My boys are 7 now and they played by themselves until they where 5, just becuase we have a pool and I was afraid they'll fell, I still watch them from the window.

[MommytoTwo]

Our backyard is completely fenced so I let my kids 4.5 and 2.5 out there all the time. I always check first to make sure all the gates are latched first.

[4Marmalade]

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

I have just recently let dd go outside by herself she is 6yo. I live off the road so there is no danger of her getting hit by a car or by someone casualy driving by seeing her and abducting her. We are surrounded by woods and there is a small danger of bears or someone sneaking up thru the woods to get to her but those odds are extremely low.

There are many factors that I took into account when making the decision to let her be out by herself. At any rate I check on her every 2-3minutes to make sure she is ok.

This is us too, except ds is 4.5. A big factor for me was ds's personality. He is a very cautious child and sticks to routine. So, it is very rare for him to be out on his own, become curious, switch activities and get into trouble. We have rules on what area he is going to be in and he needs to talk to me before he leaves that area. I check on him constantly. He also really likes company so he will check in very regularly to get me to play with him

[~ATenthMuse~]

Ds is 11, so I don't mind him and dd, who's 4, being out in the fenced backyard alone. When he's at school, I'm outside with her. She doesn't care to be outside by herself, so it's not an issue at the moment. If they're out in the front, (unfenced) we're all out there.

[FreeRangeMama]

My kids are almost 6, 3.5, and almost 2 and I let them out in the yard by themselves. Well, not so much the youngest except if I am just throwing a load in the wash or whatever (and then only if the oldest is watching her like a hawk) because I know she is not ready to be trusted yet. I would go more by ability, understanding the rules of playing in the yard, temperment, and just gut instinct instead of an arbitrary age. Neighborhood and yard situation play heavily into it as well.

Also, we have 5-6 ft fences, no easy access to the front street and only a very quiet residential neighborhood behind, and it is very childproof. Our house is small and our yard is large so the outside is like another room (or two or three) and we treat it accordingly. They cannot get out of the yard themselves and the gate is rigged so others can't get in. Plus I trust them completely to not wander or what have you. My boys are fine out there, my dd probably will need supervision for a lot longer than they did.