Is there a minimum age for children to be out on their own ?
Discussion
as the title says really... I took my two kids (ages 6 and 9) over to the park on Saturday and was surprised at the number of young children who were on their own without any adult supervision whatsoever. Some of these were from my youngest's class at school so I know they are only 6, and the rest were all under 10
Regardless of the moral rights and wrongs, is it legal to let children this young roam free to do whatever they want ?
Regardless of the moral rights and wrongs, is it legal to let children this young roam free to do whatever they want ?
Mine are seven and eight and they go to the park with a ten year old friend. It's about three hundred yards away and there are no roads. Children have to learn to be independant but it's very much down to the maturity of the individual kids at what age they are ready.
Mine have been drilled what to do if there's an accident (One stay with casualty, one return to get help) and it works.
I suppose it depends on where the park is in relation to the houses as to whether it's sensible to allow the kids to go there on their own.
Mine have been drilled what to do if there's an accident (One stay with casualty, one return to get help) and it works.
I suppose it depends on where the park is in relation to the houses as to whether it's sensible to allow the kids to go there on their own.
BliarsGoing said:
Mine have been drilled what to do if there's an accident (One stay with casualty, one return to get help) and it works.
Does this happen often? Are they particularly accident prone?
My five year old goes out with his 10 year old brother, but would not be allowed off our road without him . Again, it's down to how sensible they are. The 10 year old carries a (cheap and nasty, so won't get nicked, although risks getting beaten up for having a crap phone) mobile, so can ring us if there's a problem.
We also check up on them from time to time - they HAVE to tell us where they are going and they know we check. We've not caught them out yet.
percy flage said:
BliarsGoing said:
Mine have been drilled what to do if there's an accident (One stay with casualty, one return to get help) and it works.
Does this happen often? Are they particularly accident prone?
My five year old goes out with his 10 year old brother, but would not be allowed off our road without him . Again, it's down to how sensible they are. The 10 year old carries a (cheap and nasty, so won't get nicked, although risks getting beaten up for having a crap phone) mobile, so can ring us if there's a problem.
We also check up on them from time to time - they HAVE to tell us where they are going and they know we check. We've not caught them out yet.
One fell of her bike last week and they did exactly what they've been taught so they're still allowed to go out duffing themselves up. As a parent I've reached the stage where I prefer to look away when they're playing. They don't do anything I didn't do as a kid but it looks so much more scary when you're the parent
Interesting how things change.
I started school at age five. Mum took me to school for a week.
After that it was up to me to get there, home for lunch, back after lunch, and home again at kicking out time. Parents just provided the bus fare to/from.
Travels to/from school included lots of kicking a football round the rec, few overs of cricket during summer, all the usual carp that kids get up to, generally under the banner of pratting about.
Now, with all due respect to the OP as it's a serious question, I can understand a thread which says, is there a minimum age at which kids can be left on their own at home, but not one which questions if 6 year olds can be out and about. Then again maybe I'm applying countryside style surroundings to a question which was related to big city.
IIRC Jersey has a rule that below a certain age kids cannot be left on their own, and there is a sliding scale or age vs duration left alone which ends at about 16 or thereabouts.
I started school at age five. Mum took me to school for a week.
After that it was up to me to get there, home for lunch, back after lunch, and home again at kicking out time. Parents just provided the bus fare to/from.
Travels to/from school included lots of kicking a football round the rec, few overs of cricket during summer, all the usual carp that kids get up to, generally under the banner of pratting about.
Now, with all due respect to the OP as it's a serious question, I can understand a thread which says, is there a minimum age at which kids can be left on their own at home, but not one which questions if 6 year olds can be out and about. Then again maybe I'm applying countryside style surroundings to a question which was related to big city.
IIRC Jersey has a rule that below a certain age kids cannot be left on their own, and there is a sliding scale or age vs duration left alone which ends at about 16 or thereabouts.
Flat in Fifth said:
...IIRC Jersey has a rule that below a certain age kids cannot be left on their own, and there is a sliding scale or age vs duration left alone which ends at about 16 or thereabouts.
Presumably you mean that it increases until at 16 you daren't leave them alone for a minute?
Peter Ward said:
Flat in Fifth said:
...IIRC Jersey has a rule that below a certain age kids cannot be left on their own, and there is a sliding scale or age vs duration left alone which ends at about 16 or thereabouts.
Presumably you mean that it increases until at 16 you daren't leave them alone for a minute?
unless at 16 you're glad to get them out of your sight (and earshot) for a minute.
Not an easy question to answer in black and white because of variables.
A child (0 -13) or Young Person (14 -16) could be deemed depending on the circumstances to at risk of neglect/abuse/ standard of care and as such taken into care by Police/Social Services etc.
Also there is other legislation on what a C or YP cannot do because of age.
dvd
A child (0 -13) or Young Person (14 -16) could be deemed depending on the circumstances to at risk of neglect/abuse/ standard of care and as such taken into care by Police/Social Services etc.
Also there is other legislation on what a C or YP cannot do because of age.
dvd
turbobloke said:
Thinking about traffic there's a view that children get to estimate speed and distance reasonably well by the age of 11 or 12, generally speaking.
But it's all relative to experience.
I know someone who is actually a VERY clever bloke, perhaps a bit ... errr ... boffin-ish if you know what I mean.
He grew up in a place where you saw about one car every third Michaelmas.
Consequently when he went off to uni he just didn't know how to cross a real road. Where he'd grwon up ( or even grown up) if you saw a vehicle coming you just waited as you knew there would be nothing else for the next hour at least. He just could not judge speed / distance, he used to stand at the road side for flipping ages. Bit of a problem when in the next pub it was his round, we soon sorted him out.
Edited by Flat in Fifth on Tuesday 12th September 16:34
Dwight VanDriver said:
Not an easy question to answer in black and white because of variables.(snip)
Thanks DVD turbobloke said:
Thinking about traffic there's a view that children get to estimate speed and distance reasonably well by the age of 11 or 12, generally speaking.
Our 9 year old is beginning to get the hang of it now, but the 6 year old has no road sense at all and would just wander into the road if we ever left him to his own devices 
Needless to say we keep a close eye on him when we're out, especially as theres no footpath along our road. According to my wife, who knows the other kids in school a lot better than I do, the majority of the kids who were at the park are also known as the main troublemakers in their respective classes. I dont know whether I should be surprised at that or not but I cant help feeling that theres a connection....
Flat in Fifth said:
turbobloke said:
Thinking about traffic there's a view that children get to estimate speed and distance reasonably well by the age of 11 or 12, generally speaking.
But it's all relative to experience.
That guy must have had quite a few 'unusual' experiences at uni
turbobloke said:
Flat in Fifth said:
turbobloke said:
Thinking about traffic there's a view that children get to estimate speed and distance reasonably well by the age of 11 or 12, generally speaking.
But it's all relative to experience.
That guy must have had quite a few 'unusual' experiences at uni
IIRC it's 11 year olds who figure most highly to be invloved with collision on journeys to & from school (younger being far more likely to be accompanied to/from school). The older they get after that, the collisions happen further away from home/school & on faster roads.
vonhosen said:
turbobloke said:
Flat in Fifth said:
turbobloke said:
Thinking about traffic there's a view that children get to estimate speed and distance reasonably well by the age of 11 or 12, generally speaking.
But it's all relative to experience.
That guy must have had quite a few 'unusual' experiences at uni
IIRC it's 11 year olds who figure most highly to be invloved with collision on journeys to & from school (younger being far more likely to be accompanied to/from school). The older they get after that, the collisions happen further away from home/school & on faster roads.
I'll be taking my kids past the scene and letting them read the story to try and help them understand why I don't let them near roads.
Linky
The risk of an accident increases with age, in general, a separate issue from judgement alone due to the other factors involved. As VH points out, being accompanied or unaccompanied is a major factor. To look at judgement of speed and distance objectively, other factors must be constant. The additional risks of greater independence do offset better judgement but that judgement is still useful.
Curiously, national data shows child car occupants see a jump in risk at age 14. Why 14? You'd think at-risk passengers of newly qualified show off teenage drivers would be closer in age to the driver. Child cycling accident risk increases steadily from 1 to 13 then drops at 14. In terms of crossing the road, the risk of accident involvement also increases with age, possibly a simple weighting factor in terms of the number of times a child is exposed to risk increasing with age and independence, plus an increase in risk taking when the hormones have got going.
Boys are about twice as likely to be involved in a rtc than girls when walking or playing and about five times more likely when cycling. It must be doubtful that judgement of speed and distance differs between boys and girls, behavioural traits must be at work, those hormones again?
The road safety perspective gives food for thought without even contemplating the chav to psychopath risk continuum for young people out on their own.
Curiously, national data shows child car occupants see a jump in risk at age 14. Why 14? You'd think at-risk passengers of newly qualified show off teenage drivers would be closer in age to the driver. Child cycling accident risk increases steadily from 1 to 13 then drops at 14. In terms of crossing the road, the risk of accident involvement also increases with age, possibly a simple weighting factor in terms of the number of times a child is exposed to risk increasing with age and independence, plus an increase in risk taking when the hormones have got going.
Boys are about twice as likely to be involved in a rtc than girls when walking or playing and about five times more likely when cycling. It must be doubtful that judgement of speed and distance differs between boys and girls, behavioural traits must be at work, those hormones again?
The road safety perspective gives food for thought without even contemplating the chav to psychopath risk continuum for young people out on their own.
Peter Ward said:
Flat in Fifth said:
...IIRC Jersey has a rule that below a certain age kids cannot be left on their own, and there is a sliding scale or age vs duration left alone which ends at about 16 or thereabouts.
Presumably you mean that it increases until at 16 you daren't leave them alone for a minute?
njwc said:
as the title says really... I took my two kids (ages 6 and 9) over to the park on Saturday and was surprised at the number of young children who were on their own without any adult supervision whatsoever. Some of these were from my youngest's class at school so I know they are only 6, and the rest were all under 10
Regardless of the moral rights and wrongs, is it legal to let children this young roam free to do whatever they want ?
Regardless of the moral rights and wrongs, is it legal to let children this young roam free to do whatever they want ?
Am Mama of five plus adopted plus fosters of various ages. A parent I judge maturity und allow "freedoms" in line with my judgement of their capabilities.
There are some laws regarding "home alone" ..under age of 14.
Drummed into our kittens all obvious dangers. But as responsible und objective parent ..you decide if child meet your standards of self-responsibility und capability und maturity.
For example...our youngest boy .. Andrew .. adopted - now aged 6. I trust absolutely.
Our current foster.. with a little drink und attitude problem aged 16 now und in our keeping as we encouraged him to further education und resit his failed exams as well.. I would accompany to be sure.
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