Comments on: For $350 this woman will ignore your kids.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 20:24:59 +0000

That probably wouldn’t be accurate but my farm has dams and poisonous snakes so I would probably be a little wary of allowing my kids to play unsupervised until they are a little older.

By: Judy

Judy — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 06:06:36 +0000

Our local council has basketball rings in some courts around our suburb. It has been a great place for the children of the street to hang out. Once a few children are out there, everyone comes out. I love the sound of them having fun on a long summer night.

By: Kris2040

Kris2040 — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 06:20:59 +0000

“Not in the middle of NYC where there is probably a monster living every second block. This just seems like they are asking for their kids to get kidnapped. If someone told me they had let 7 year old play on the play ground alone and then make their own way home and at some stage this child went missing, I would simply say what do you expect you idiot?”

Are you for real? How about we city slickers say that every second farm is inhabited by nutcases with sawn-off shotties with a graveyard in the top paddock?
Would that be accurate?

By: Jay

Jay — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 06:01:57 +0000

Check their crime rate… not really insulting

By: Faybian

Faybian — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 20:11:35 +0000

Bit insulting to the good people of NYC, don’t you think?

By: Faybian

Faybian — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 20:09:56 +0000

If they were wandering about aimlessly for hours, I’d be inclined to tell the kids to go home, but thy may have been going to a park/someone’s house and back. My kids are allowed to be “on the streets” at about 10, doing just that, or playing in our street younger. It’s just that we’re not used to seeing it anymore that makes it look a bit shocking.

By: Lisa66

Lisa66 — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 13:29:10 +0000

So when do you reckon is a good time to let your kids start experiencing things on their own? 12, 15, 18, 40???

I don’t know if I fit the “free range” label or not, but I do know that I have brought my kids up to accept increasing amounts of responsibility. Of course i didn’t let them play in the street when they were three, or let them ride to school unaccompanied when they were six and still wonky on their bikes. I did, however, make them responsible for things that were appropriate to their age.

I taught them how to make their own breakfast from a young age (no using the toaster or the microwave until they were old enough to understand how to operate them safely.) I’ve always made them responsible for packing their own lunches (I make the sandwich, they pack the rest) and doing small things like applying their own sunscreen (with supervision when they were little, of course.)

Socially, I have always made them speak for themselves and do things like go to the counter with money in shops while I waited outside. They have always ordered their own food in restaurants etc etc.

In terms of playing unsupervised in parks, or riding their bikes etc, the age has been different for each of my kids depending on things like maturity, skill and having a group that they could do these things with.

Where we live now most kids are allowed to ride to school, play in the park with friends and so on from around Grade 4/5. Where we lived before virtually no kids played unsupervised at all.

All three of my kids are very independent. I often get comments from friends/teachers etc on how lucky I am to have such responsible, self-reliant kids. (Here’s a tip: there was no “luck” involved!)

My eldest child turns 17 next week. He is a mature, independent young man who is about to enter Year 12. He holds down a part time job, and is in great demand as a babysitter. He is able to get himself anywhere on public transport and can be relied upon to respond well in almost any situation. Some of his friends are still completely reliant upon their parents. I worry about what will happen to them when they hit university and have to make decisions for themselves for the first time.

Teaching your kids to be independent is not the same as not protecting them. Quite the opposite in fact.

By: Lisa66

Lisa66 — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 13:00:57 +0000

Being in the US that kid probably doesn’t have uniform requirements either!
Chillax, you would have hated my oldest boy’s hair earlier this year. He responded to going to a new school with much more relaxed uniform regulations by growing a “fro”. He loved it for while and I actually thought it looked pretty good on him! He got sick of it and is back to shorter hair now.

By: beansbeansthemagicalfruit

beansbeansthemagicalfruit — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:07:52 +0000

Thankfully most schools in N. America have neither hair nor uniform requirements, especially at that age. Nits aren’t the problem there that they are in Australian schools either so I’m sure Lenore’s boy is doing just fine.

By: Kris2040

Kris2040 — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 09:17:43 +0000

That isn’t what you said and it isn’t what I was asking. So is your friend’s daughter neglected? Or is it that you’re just not used to seeing kids walking around perfectly innocently like we did? What if they had their hair cut and were dressed in an acceptable manner? Would that make it OK?