My kids still need to hold my hand when crossing the street

[Anonymous]

My 7 year old definitely still needs to hold my hand when crossing streets and in parking lots. He's a more distractable and hyper and tends to run instead of walk. My 10 year old is less so and hasn't had to hold my hand for a while. Not worth the risk in this situation. I don't think this qualifies as helicoptering.

[Anonymous]

I make my 7 y.o. hold my hand. She can get distracted pretty easily.

[Anonymous]

I think that's totally fine OP. I do it too and I see other parents to it as well.

[Anonymous]

For all of you with 7 yr olds making your kids hold your hands: what I found worked to get my DD to pay attention was to tell her, when we were four blocks from home "Lead me home. YOU direct ME. YOU keep ME safe."

And all of a sudden she was watching traffic lights and cars and making eye contact with drivers like a boss.

[Anonymous]

Mine is 25. She holds my hand when she visits...because she knows I could now use the help!

[Anonymous]

Lawd, I hold my 8yo's hand just out of habit, I guess. Never knew this was such a parenting cardinal sin!

[Anonymous]

My kids hold hands in a parking lot (youngest is 5)

They can cross the street walking to school without holding hands (crossing guard is there)

When we cross an intersection like 14th and Irving I am definitely holding hands with my 5 YO.

[Anonymous]

why is this even a question?

[Anonymous]

You're normal, OP.

In a situation where you're crossing and a vehicle is barreling down on you, you need to pull your children to safety. Hence the hand-holding.

It's a safety thing that everyone should implement with children who cannot evaluate and decide in a split-second. Which means all the way up to teens, basically

For red lights with no turn on red, this may not be such a problem. But we regularly use a pedestrian crossing in Bethesda without traffic lights, and here my children absolutely have to hold my hand tightly. One car in a lane will stop, and the danger comes from the second lane, since the car in that lane often cannot see us. So I am hypervigilant when using that crossing.