Does she have a bike?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get off your computer and walk with her

Get off your computer and stop being nasty.

+1

Anonymous wrote:Get off your computer and walk with her

Get off your computer and stop being nasty.

We let our 12 year old do stuff like this. But definitely make sure she has general “street smarts.” And of course it depends on the neighborhood.

The fact is, sometimes the world is unsafe. Most of the time, it is safe. It’s daytime and your daughter wants to walk by herself. I say let her do so.

And yet the Mosaic thread has posters suggesting 20 year olds should be scared to walk around Mosaic by themselves.

It totally depends on the area and her skills.

She's 12. If there are sidewalks and she'll keep her music low enough to hear what's going on around her, give her a time limit and let her go.

Yes, she can walk as long as its safe for pedestrians and a reasonably safe neighborhood. And please consider the cost of NOT letting her go places by herself. I think overall a child who is confident getting herself around on foot is more likely to walk herself out of bad situations (or not accept a ride in a situation she shouldn't.)

Are there sidewalks all the way there? If she's crossing any big roads, is it safe for people to cross there? Does she generally have good judgment?

If the answer to all 3 questions is yes, then: yes, it's fine for her to go.

Totally depends on the area. At 12 I'd expect her to be old enough to cross most streets safely, but if there are no pedestrians at all or it's a bad neighborhood, then I might be wary.

I would (and do) let my 12 yo son do this, but we live in a place (near Capitol Hill) with a lot of pedestrians. I guess it depends on the neighborhood? Because we live on the NE edge and I wouldn’t let him walk a mile in every direction (not that he’d want to walk up, say, Benning Rd).

As long as it doesn't require crossing big streets without lights, I would be fine with it. My 12 year old walks or takes the public bus home by herself about the same distance every afternoon.

Get off your computer and walk with her

My 12 year old just last year started walking to school by herself. Now she wants to walk to the store about a mile away to buy some things and even get some food for lunch. It's the middle of the day and her friends are not around. She is by herself. What would you say?