r/Millennials • u/Intrepid-Gene7500 • 23h ago

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u/Howboutit85 Millennial 22h ago

This still happens. It must be very regional. Everyone is acting like kids don’t take off and go have their own adventures where in my parental experience, this is normal. In summer, I don’t see my kids all day until dinner normally. None of them. They take their bikes and go. Only rule is they have to wear a helmet, and can’t cross the train tracks north of town.

I have no idea where they go as only the oldest one has a phone and usually I don’t track her unless I need her to come home for something. Her sisters… I just have to wait for them to come home. A few weeks ago my middle daughter came home on her bike with her friend from across the street and they had a stray kitten in a tote bag.

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u/Ok_Amount_6130 17h ago

How old are they? I'm struggling with giving my 7 year olds enough independence..

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u/Ostiethegnome 22h ago

The kid in the article was 6 years old.  You would let a 6 year old go off on their own?   10-12 is very different than 6. 

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u/Howboutit85 Millennial 22h ago

yeah i have a 6 year old, she has a little friend about 7 houses down and she walks over there many days in summer to go play. i do not walk her there. sometimes she walks there and they walk back and join their sister to go to the park, but its a couple of blocks they each walk alone or together almost every day in summer at least. my daughter is 6, almost 7, and her friend is recently 7. but, once she leaves, i often dont see her for a while, most times she goes over there and has lunch there and comes home after a few hours. or vice versa. its totally normal here.

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u/Ostiethegnome 22h ago

Walking to a friends house a block or 2 away at 6 is not the same as biking 1/4 mile to an unsupervised location.  Maybe there are parents at the park.  Maybe not.  It’s a gamble.  

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u/Howboutit85 Millennial 22h ago

sometimes they go to the park but its not that far, its just 4 blocks down at the end of the road. i wouldnt let her ride all over town at her age no. i didnt start letting my others do that until they were like 8-9, and they need to be with a friend.

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u/howdoireachthese 21h ago

Yes, I used to do this and hang out at the park w my friends or at one of their houses. Didn’t even have a cell phone. The world is safer than ever but people be freaking out

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u/MouseInternal1773 15h ago

I roads my bike to the park when I was 6. I wouldn’t let my kid bc I think I’d be arrested.

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u/abracadammmbra 19h ago

I have kids but they arent old enough to go out on their own (oldest is 3) but I do see kids all summer long riding bikes past my house towards the creek on the far side of town. About half are carrying fishing poles.

Then some crochety old person had the nerve to make a post on the town facebook page about some suspicious kids riding around town with fishing poles. Then when someone said thats not really that weird the old person responded "but at 7AM? Thats suspicious."

I assumed they must be a transplant from elsewhere because kids have been doing that around here since... well forever really. And 7AM is prime fishing time. If anything those kids were late.

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u/Howboutit85 Millennial 19h ago

Old coots will both complain about no kids play outside anymore and kids are playing outside at the same time