Road and carpark safety/age questions?

[ladybird11]

Where there are cars / or places where cars are likely to be my kids hand will be held. I make it a rule. Once I feel they are mature enough to make smart decisions and that they respect the road will i then revisit this rule.

Kids can be unpredictable, as can drivers and other road users. Many kids can't differentiate between a busy or quiet road; kids think differently to older people. Even if there are 'safe' crossing locations, I simply don't trust road users. I have had to pick up the pieces too many times through work.

Not to mention kids witness bad crossing behaviors demonstrated by older kids, adults etc and many will copy.

[Rouge]

Yep the road safety rules here in vic say 9 - 10. And don't be fooled by the ease of country roads. I have 2 friends who's children were hit by cars on country roads, and not because they were naive or irresponsible.

My GF, 2 weeks ago was nearly hit by a car, and they were crossing the road at the right time. She was with her husband, a car came speeding around the corner and refused to stop. Her husband ended up with bruising because he lept out of the way. Luckily their son wasn't with them. If he had been I hate to think what would have happened.

I think the biggest problem is we've forgot how to teach our children things. Just because we grew up in a different time and had different amounts of freedom doesn't mean that needs to be the yardstick for our own children. I've seen people just assume that once a child reaches a certain age that they are capable of all these things, yet not once have they been taught. KWIM?

[Cranky Kitten]

I drive her (and her bike) to safer neighbourhoods, just so she can ride her bike in parks and playgrounds. God, i will only be able to do that for a short time, the bigger she gets, i won't be able to put her bike in the carboot when she gets bigger. hmmm.

We often do that with the 3 of us, not because our local area is unsafe (quite the opposite actually) but to go to different places to ride that are a bit more interesting, such as national parks or around the river etc. We have a strap on bike carrier that doesn't need a tow-ball that comfortably takes 3 adult sized bikes - wasn't particularly expensive either at a decent bike shop. Ebay might have them cheaper too

[DANNIIM]

DS1 started walking to school only this yr so 8.5 yrs he turned 9 in April. I just couldn't trust him to cross the road as he was unpredictable at times and we only live 400metres from the school. Both my boys have been lunatic darters as soon as you aren't holding there hands.

[~clover~]

DD1 at 9 walksto school unsupervised in a small down. School is about 3 blocks away. DD2, at 6 will occasionally walk with DD1 to a friends house down the other side of our street. Crossing the road at this end, down through the middle of a block of houses & across the other road. Again, very quiet street, Kinda supervised, as in I can see them at the top, my friend can see them at the bottom.

In a bigger town DD1 does not cross a road unsupervised & DD2 will hold a hand/pram.

ETA - DS at 3 never walks when we are out. He's in a pram. He is a bolter & I can't do it. Here, if we walk I prefer him to hold hands on the road, but again, he's usually in the pram coz he runs.There's nothing I can do once he's gone, so I don't risk it. I can't run because of my SPD.

[~Stoked~]

I still don't let my 11 year old walk to
school on her own! She is very responsible, the school is on our street (about 1.6kms up the road) AND we live in a small town BUT I still wouldn't feel comfortable with her walking on her own. I just wouldn't be able to relax not knowing if she actually made it to school or not!

That's just me though. I'm a bit of a worrier!