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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I was 4 when my parents started teaching me and practicing. Why? Because come Sept. 4 I had to walk to school by myself and cross many streets - all at the age of 4. I was not 5 until December of that year. The largest 4-lane road had a crossing guard. There weren't any children my age in my neighborhood, so I didn't meet up with other kids until I was out of my neighborhood. And they were all elementary kids as well. We practiced all summer and played games about what to do if certain situations arose. Many other families practiced as well. I felt so proud and prepared on my first day! And no this wasn't some small town. I grew up just outside of DC.[/quote]

So you think kids should be able to roam unsupervised at 4.  Ok.  We definitely disagree.  Just because you survived doesn't mean that's a good benchmark.[/quote]

I'm not saying that all children are capable of walking to school unsupervised at age 4. My husband shouldn't have been able to walk to school unsupervised at age 15!  :)

But this is not an all or nothing kind of thing. Baby steps of responsibility, when mastered, then lead to more responsibility.

Suddenly telling a child it's OK at age 8 to walk to the park alone without first letting them go to the corner and back at an earlier age can be a terrifying experience or worse yet, a total disregard of the previously set down rules. These kind of life skills have to acquired and honed. Skill, thought, and confidence developed over a lifetime leads to a confident and self-assured adult.

Every parent needs to know their own child's maturity, skills, and limitations and work within those parameters. No hard-and-fast age rules can ever substitute for a parent's knowledge of their own child's abilities.

I remember my mom telling me as an adult, that the first week that I made that walk at age 4, she followed me just out of sight to make sure I succeeded. But I thought I was totally rocking it on my own. I clearly was a very mature 4-year-old and my mother knew it. lol[/quote]

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