how old is old enough... - Page 2

[CaraboosMama]

Originally Posted by 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.

Your signature made me


Thanks all for the feedback! Now I don't feel as overpritective. I think I will go w/ my gut & just keep it at a few minutes "alone" where I can see her from the window until she's a bit older.

[maliceinwonderland]

My ex and I were just discussing this the other day. I HATE living in the city, in an apartment because I can't send dd out to play by herself. When I was her age my family lived outside of town, in a small little cul-de-sac with a huge backyard and a farmer's field/forest off the backyard so I spent pretty much all day roaming around (think..childhood from the secret garden ). I feel like kids who live like dd are missing out on something, although I can't quite explain what it is. Ex said he felt the same way, that when he went to Nova Scotia as a kid and visited his cousins, they were much more self assured, thought nothing of walking to the corner store to grab their mom milk etc by themselves from about age 6 or 7. His family in NS lives in a town of about 1000, one main road..you get the idea. We were actually planning on dropping everything here and trying to make a go of it in NS before I found out I was pregnant. I can't shake the feeling that city kids are missing out on *something* by having their parents stuck up their butts all the time to keep them safe. I definitely think it's necessary where we live (ton of sexual predators around) but I really, really hate it.