I let DS (3.5) out the back by himself but only if I am doing the dishes cause I can see him. If he and DD (8) are out there together then I do what I need to do in other parts of the house.
I do it mainly for safety reasons, and DS likes to turn the outside tap on so I need to be available to turn it off!!!
ETA- On weekends, the kids are out there almost all day.
my 2 yo goes out the back we haev a very small yard and its fully enclosed we are usually in teh shed or the garden or kitchen cooking and she iwll be outside chasing the cat lol
we have really only just started letting our 9yo go out totally unsupervised without us watching or looking through a window, but thats because he couldnt eb trusted and would kick balls at windows and just be naughty and try adn escape.
i would say maybe 3-5 depending on the child and how close you are and if you can still hear them while inside and what type of play equipment and back yard you have.
if we had things tay could climb and fall off she would eb supervised while playing with those.
if she is just running around chasing the cat or playing with the balls then we turn away sometimes for 10 min while she laughs and runs.
DD was three when I first let her out by herself. I call it semi-supervised, because I still stick my head out every now and then and I can see a large portion of the backyard from my couch. It is a very child friendly backyard. DS is 1.5yrs and is allowed outside with DD while I stay inside - but like I said I can see almost all of the yard and if DS goes around the corner and plays in the dog water (which he loves to do) or anything else naughty, DD loves to dobb him in to me
I think it depends on what your yard is like as much as anything.
We moved into a house where I let DD out in the back yard unsupervised (with an ear out for what was going on) just over 2 years ago. So she would play on her own out there from about 14 mths. She could get up and down the 2 steps without problem and the yard was fully enclosed with 6 ft high fences. There was a hazard at the back with a drop down into the neighbours yard (kind of a slope, though, for a metre) which she did get stuck down once (just before she was 2), but she yelled out for me and I rescued her! Otherwise, I would often let her go and she has proven herself pretty capable. In our new house the front yard is the playground area and I just make sure the gate is shut and padlocked. Here there are good fences and nothing that I think she could get into at all. I think she likes the opportunity to explore without me hovering. She's naturally a very capable child and aware of her own physical capacity.
Since the boys were 2 I have let them outisde alone. Having said that my backyard was safe, no way to get out the gate, no hiding spots as it was small and nothing really for them to climb on. I would check them reguarly. Now they both go out all day and play on their own and I might check them every 3 hours lol I can usually hear them fine through out the whole house
I only let mine out if I can hear them. My yard is fully fenced, but I know they'll escape, or get up to mischeif of some sort... As long as I can hear them I don't feel the need to keep checking, but if they go quiet for too long I'm at a window or door.
I let mine outside (not so much lately....due to the rain....)...but i always am at the back of the house pottering around. Its not like i would go to the front of the hosue and vacumn the car or something whilst they are out the back...
In summer i tend to go out there when they are out there. We live on the back of a reserve and my fear is a brown snake or spider will slither/crawl up beside them....
Because my recently turned 3yo has an older brother (5yo) who I can trust to keep an eye on him and let me know if anything goes wrong I let them play out the back all the time... loosely supervised. However I also find it easy enough to let this happen because we have floor to ceiling windows all along the back part of the house making visibilty really good. Even sitting here at my 'pute I can see them. If I didn't have these windows I would be a bit more nervous about unsupervised play.
I've been letting mine out for ages. They're pretty noisy so I can always hear what they're up to. Mainly Yasin just rides his bike up and down the path and Imran chases him. I used to feel like I had to always be watching them but then I decided I didn't want to be a helicopter parent so now I just let them be.
My youngest DS (2) goes outside on his own all the time. Our yard is a very small courtyard and is fully fenced and escape proof so I have no worries with him being out there alone. I am usually downstairs in the kitchen, laundry or lounge room anyway which is all close to the back yard.
hmmm, well i wouldnt be able to see or hear her at all due to the set up of house and yard. so that is a bit of a worry. there isnt really anything out there that is dangerous though, we will be getting a swing and slide for her bday in a month. i will have to think about it some more, i am such a nervous nelly!
we let my bro's 8, 6 and 4 year olds outside here to play without adult supervision - provided there is two of them together. we have no fences at the front and back so we tend to limit where they can go - thankfully they're good kids and don't go past the shed unless there are adults with them. we only loosely supervise if we're outside with them to make sure they don't go past the back fence, don't torment the cattle dog (he has to be tied up when he's home cos of no fences unless DH is out there with him - won't come back for me!) or get tangled in his chain. we have a double block though with heaps of space and lots of stuff for them to get into - so it's not something i think i'll be comfortable with until E is much older. i don't hover, i just go about doing my own thing and make sure i can hear what is going on. to do that from inside i'd have to be in my bedroom with the ensuite window open, and if someone got hurt, have to go to the other end of the house then right down the backyard to help them out so it's just more practical to be outside with them...
I was thinking about this the other day too. I sometimes let dd1 outside on her own if I am in the kitchen or on the lounge where I can see her most of the time, I also leave a window open so i can hear her (if its quiet she is normally up to mischief).
Yesterday it was quiet and I called out to her asking what she was doing she yelled back to me 'a poo'. She had done a poo in the dogs dinner bowl .
We have 2 dogs and if dd is outside on her own I put the dogs away. I trust my dogs but Im not sure I can trust my dd not to poke them with a stick or pull their tails and its just not worth the risk IMO. I also move the dogs water bowls round the side where the dogs are as my friends nephew almost drowned in their dogs water bowl and he needed to be rescusitated.
We have a tiny garden, no steps (save into the house) and a gate to stop DS going to the front garden and the road.
He's been playing out there alone... since he was about one and a half. Although at that point "alone" was I'd leave him outside if I needed the loo. We use the washing line and sheets to make a den, we have a ride-on and some cars as well as some water play; Liebling will be out there for hours if I wanted with minimal contact from me. So yeah, an hour to get housework done broken only by requests for more water, that works very well for me.
As far as I'm concerned, the garden is just another room in the house. I've always treated it as such so it has no special rules, other than you can get things messier in the garden. BUT we have a very small, child-friendly garden.
Charlotte has been playing outside 'by herself' since about 14 months old...the house is fully fenced and gate locked...she loves it! And I get some time to do the dishes without her being surgically attached to my ankle. lol
She is very independent, always has been. She has problems sometimes or trips over and cries, but she would do that if I was there with her anyway - this way she has learnt to pick herself up and dust herself off and takes off after the cat again lol
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BellyBelly Member
at what age do you let your child out the back unsupervised?
)...but i always am at the back of the house pottering around. Its not like i would go to the front of the hosue and vacumn the car or something whilst they are out the back...
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