A 9 year old are ready for subway?

[Anonymous]

Please,With all my respect(This Mother is CRACY)Sorry,Maybe i a old fashion Mom.But not everybody thinking by the same way.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23935873/

[Anonymous]

I see lots of kids on the subway everyday without parents and wonder about them. Some are with friends, some alone, but they all seem to be on their way to school everyday. So while I think 9 is too young to be travelling on the subway alone, I certainly was biking all over town when I was 9. I let my 13 year old go on the subway, but with a friend, in the daytime, with a cell phone and only within Arlington county.

[Anonymous]

I think a child alone probably looks like an easy target to bullies, and I would want to avoid and prevent that trauma for my 9 year old daughter. (How many of us supress memories of having been bullied as children, leading to unresolved feelings of rage or anxiety?) She recently had the experience of waiting in the eating area for me at an airport restaurant, and we were well within view of each other, but when I returned, three teenagers had taken over the space, and she had simply moved away to avoid a confrontation. They didn't ask her, as they might have asked another teen or adult, is anyone sitting here? They simply moved in on her, knowing she couldn't defend the space. She felt terrible and was in tears when I turned around with our food.

[Anonymous]

I think it's great.

[Anonymous]

When I was in first grade I used to walk alone to Chinatown to catch the 70 bus to get to school. This was in 1988 and that area was not as safe as it is now...

[Anonymous]

PP #1 certainly did point out part of the challenge - we don't want our children hurt, even just their feelings.

However, how we get from where we are (young kid, protected in all sorts of ways...) to responsible adult one day is a challenge. It involves letting go, and potentially some risk. For example, if I don't start to loosen up and give my son more authority about crossing streets, he is NEVER going to internalize the "look both ways" rule that is critical for survival in a modern environment. Sooner or later, he'll cross streets without me.

I think the mom did a great job. She didn't abandon the kid in a random Bloomies, but at the one near home.

[Anonymous]

I think another pertinent point is that the child was used to taking the subway, and was asking for a chance to do it himself. This means he wanted it, and was more than likely ready for it on limited terms.

It'd be different if she just said, "hey, you're 9! it's time for you to navigate the city on your own."