From: sjk@strl.labs.tek.com (Steven King)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Neighborhood dangers...
Date: 16 Oct 92 17:15:08 GMT
Article-I.D.: crl.4842
Reply-To: sjk@strl.labs.tek.com (Steven King)
Followup-To: misc.kids
Organization: Software Technology Research Lab, Tektronix, Inc.

In article <1992Oct14.160107.19507@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov>, melissa@spanky.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Melissa Probst) writes:
|> In article <1992Oct14.002857.2239747@locus.com> judy@locus.com (Judy Leedom Tyrer) writes:
|> >
|> >I think you'll know.  I was thinking I'd let Mitchell go out front alone
|> >with defined boundaries when he was 4.  He turned 4 and I said, "No, not yet."
|> >But the girl accross the street was allowed out at 4 so that's why I thought
|> >4.  Of course, she had older sisters and Mitchell is our oldest.  My guess
|> >is that he'll be out at 6 and Erin will be out at 4.  And one of us will be 
|> >outside in our own yard for the first few months of this new freedom.
|> >
|> Our oldest son was 6 when we let him play out front alone.  He was 
|> limited to our block.  We live on a quiet street with no through
|> traffic.  Our youngest, who is 4 would like to go out front and play
|> also, but I don't feel that it is fair to ask our older son to be
|> responsible for his little brother.  Our youngest will be able to
|> play out front when he is 6 also.

Boy, do you folks have a good attitude!  I wish the other parents in our
neighborhood did the same with their kids.

We have neighbors with four and five YO kids that have been letting them
roam the cul-de-sac for over one year now.  Katherine and/or I are always
out with our 3YO son.  If he wants to visit someone else, we escort him.
If he needs defending (He's the only 3YO on the street - everyone else is
either < 1YO or > 4YO), then one of us is there to mediate the dispute.

The parents typically try our house first when looking for their children.
Not that we mind the children being at our home.  We have a great play
area in back, and enjoy seeing Patrick play with older children.  It's
only when the children get nasty or demanding that we wish the parents
were a little more responsible.

We do not let Patrick play at the offending parent's homes, because we
feel that the parents would simply stick the kids in the back yard
and ignore them.  A good example cropped up last night... we were
out in front of a neighbor's home.  About five of the neighbor kids
were rolling down the lawn, and we let Patrick join in.  Everyone
was having a good time, until the 4YO girl who lived at the house
went inside.  The father _screamed_ at her for getting dirty, and
sent her back out front - unsupervised.  (It was all I could do to
not go inside and scream at him).  I suppose that the parents thought
that she was old enough to roam the cul-de-sac for a couple of hours
without getting into a little mischief.  :^(

I think it's rather sad when the parent of a 4YO expects the child to
stay out of his face AND behave exactly how he thinks she should. It
also angers the hell out of me - I wish we could have more of an
impact, but I can't figure out a positive approach for an ogre who
treats his daughter this way.  In the meantime, I'll keep watch over
our children until they are old enough to watch themselves.

Remember, kids will be kids!  We need to watch those that cannot
watch out for themselves.

Steven (sjk@strl.labs.tek.com)

"Sometimes if you have a cappuccino and then try again it will work OK."
(Dr. Brian Reid)  "Sometimes one cappuccino isn't enough." (Marcus Ranum)
"A double vanilla latte always works."  (Me)