Reply to Free-range kids picked up AGAIN by police

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I grew up knowing how quickly bad things can happen and I have used that knowledge in my parenting to balance freedom and supervision to keep my children safe and healthy. I know that we can't protect our kids from any possible harm, but [b]I will do my best to keep from putting them in situations that are beyond their age to handle[/b]. 
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I am certain that the Meitivs are also doing their best to keep from putting their children in situations that are beyond their age to handle. And since the Meitivs know their children, and you don't, there's a good chance that the Meitivs have a better idea of what their children can handle than you do.[/quote]

My six year old relative was with a group of kids ages 6-10 playing at a park with no adults around. They were playing in a part of the park that an adult would have warned them away from because it was too close to the street. He was hit and his life was changed forever. I have talked to kids who were there when it happened and it truly would not have happened had an adult been there.

I get that kids are different but certain developmental milestones are fairly universal. Six year old children need supervision, and a ten year old is not yet ready for that and it is not fair to a ten year old to bear that responsibility. The kids who were there the day my relative was hit are adults now and they still think about that day.
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If developmental milestones are universal, how come different cultures have such very different expectations of children's age-related capabilities?[/quote]

Many reasons, not all of which pertain to this discussion, but partly because of differences in types of dangers that young children might be presented with. 
Why expose kids to dangers that can harm them in a blink of an eye when you have the capability to teach them to protect themselves as they grow and develop? It is a rare six year old that understands the dangers of cars the way an adult does. [/quote]

I agree with the above poster. I was a "free-range" kid of the early 70s. I grew up in a safe, suburban, neighborhood and walked to and from my bus stops beginning at age five. I was also allowed to roam the neighborhood freely on my own as long as I was home on time and stayed with friends. Despite crossing the neighborhood streets hundreds of times I got hit by a car when I was six in a moment of distraction. I am in my 40s now and I can still vividly remember the entire event. I spent four months in the hospital, endured two very painful surgeries and spent another six months in therapy learning how to walk again. However, I feel fortunate because I very well could have lost my life.

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