Spring-time safety
Posted
April 22, 2008 at
10:00 am by
Allison J
Spring has sprung! As I look out my front door I’m comforted by the new blooms on the trees, the flowers beginning to shoot up, and the warm sun blanketing every surface. I love spring! I love all of the four seasons, especially when they start to blow in.
My quiet neighborhood is also buzzing with children on bikes, scooters, roller blades, you name it! Some are outfitted with helmets, shoulder pads, the works. But that’s not my primary concern. What nearly all of thee kids were missing was parents! There is no adult supervision. That’s fine for most kids, but I just can’t comprehend letting a group of 5 year olds roam the streets. I’m familiar with some of the faces, and I’m aware that many of them live as far as 10 blocks away.
I live in a great neighborhood. It’s situated on the border of a city, and only a few blocks from semi-rural living. I love living here, but…
Maybe I am just an over-protective worrier. Maybe it is because I have a Down Syndrome sister and have always viewed the world as “dangerous” in relation to her. Growing up only a few miles from the house I now share with my husband, we were only allowed to play in our neighborhood. And by that I mean on my parent’s block. My older sister and I, as well as the many kids that lived in the surrounding houses, played on the front lawns. We couldn’t take off on our bikes without someone’s parent until we were about 8 or 9. And after 7pm, we had to be in “shouting distance” of our house — close enough to hear mom yelling for us.
Don’t get me wrong — my parents weren’t super-protective! By age 9 my best friend and I could ride our bikes to the park, roller blade to the ice cream parlor, take off for an hour. But after an hour had passed we HAD to check in with someone’s parents. On the rare occasion that we “forgot,” we were met by our mothers, hands on their hips, standing on the corner of our street. Never a good sign.
I guess I’m just shocked to see little kids (again, 5-6 year olds) riding around the streets at 7 o’clock at night — without an adult in tow. I am aware that most of their parents work full-time and have other things to do outside of following their kids, but shouldn’t someone be with them? Why not restrict their adventures to the block on which they live? I’ve heard some parents say “Well, they just won’t stay on the block. They just take off on their bikes.” WHAT??? My parents would have killed me! I knew my boundaries — which, until I was 5, were “Mrs. St. Maurice’s hedges and Anne’s driveway. Go beyond that and you’re little behind is in the house for the night!”
I’m worried about some of these kids — am I overreacting?
Tags: child-safety, child-supervision, Family, protecting-children, setting-boundaries-for-children, summer-recreation |
7 Responses to “Spring-time safety”
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1. Rita. said:
April 22, 2008 @ 10:44 am
I don’t consider myself a helicopter parent, but I do think that there is some common sense missing with these parents.
We live on a cul-de-sac in a very quiet neighborhood in a very safe suburb and I was appalled when we first moved here with the lack of supervision some of the neighborhood kids had. I’m still more protective of them than a lot of our neighbors. They earn freedom from me in increments. And even then they’re tied to me via cell phone and strict timelines.
I will say that I’ve almost hit a couple of those other kids with my car, and it wasn’t even that I almost hit THEM. Twice, I’ve had a kid run into my STOPPED car on their bike or scooter. I see the kids being careless and I literally stop my vehicle in the road because they are not looking where they’re going and they’re going to get hit, and then they run right into my stationary vehicle and go *bam*. It’s terrifying.
2. Grandma frm Ks. said:
April 22, 2008 @ 11:38 am
Rita, I to live in a cul-de-sac,until 2 years ago unless mine or some other neighbors grandchildren came to visit, there were no small children to close,(6-8) blocks, but we have lost 4 elderly neighbors, and now we have several children,(small ones)I was driving down the street and on the corner is several large shrubs (overgrown) as I approached the corner, ready to turn left, here comes a little 3 yr old chasing her doggie,I was terrified, my legs were shaking so bad I just sat there,but here comes the mother, she saw the whole incident, she said to the little girl “did you find your doggie” in a babified voice, and turned to leave, I said mam, I almost hit your little girl, I did not even see her come from behind those bushes, she said “well she plays there all the time ,so watch out for her”I honestly could not believe it,yes always watch out for children,dogs ,cats ect. but she just left it up to the drivers,I only hope I never come that close to a child again with my vehicle,
3. Friend said:
April 22, 2008 @ 11:42 am
[quote comment="157367"]Rita, I to live in a cul-de-sac,until 2 years ago unless mine or some other neighbors grandchildren came to visit, there were no small children to close,(6-8) blocks, but we have lost 4 elderly neighbors, and now we have several children,(small ones)I was driving down the street and on the corner is several large shrubs (overgrown) as I approached the corner, ready to turn left, here comes a little 3 yr old chasing her doggie,I was terrified, my legs were shaking so bad I just sat there,but here comes the mother, she saw the whole incident, she said to the little girl “did you find your doggie” in a babified voice, and turned to leave, I said mam, I almost hit your little girl, I did not even see her come from behind those bushes, she said “well she plays there all the time ,so watch out for her”I honestly could not believe it,yes always watch out for children,dogs ,cats ect. but she just left it up to the drivers,I only hope I never come that close to a child again with my vehicle,[/quote]
Grandma,
I have had the same experience in my neighborhood. Lots of tots and parent’s expect you to look out for them when the kids are playing in the street….
4. Rita. said:
April 22, 2008 @ 12:04 pm
Well, and it should be both sides doing their duty. We live in an area just bursting with kids, so you seriously do need to creep your car along at like 2 mph when you get into the development, and I do stop the car if the kids are zig-zagging in front of me on their rollerblades/scooters/bikes. I’ll give a gentle toot-toot to let them know I’m waiting for them to stop their shenanigans and let me drive past, and I don’t mind being on the lookout for them. But, parents should be doing their part as well by making sure their kids are old enough and responsible enough before letting them out of their sight.
5. Kristy said:
April 22, 2008 @ 12:55 pm
That seems too lax to me, but it’s funny because it’s so opposite of what seems to be the norm around here. I let my kids play in our front yard and around the house starting pretty early, but not alone. My oldest is ten and has pretty free run of the neighborhood, but he’s an extremely mature and cautious child and his freedom is directly related to his track record. With my second, who’s now 6, it might be longer before he has as much.
My kids are 10, 6, 5, and almost 2, and if they are all outside I will even let the youngest be on the porch or yard with just her siblings watching her, but again, that has a lot to do with my kids’ pattern of behavior and the fact that my tiny house allows me to hear them and see them from any window the whole time.
6. Allison G said:
April 22, 2008 @ 1:31 pm
I live on a busy street, so my kiddos aren’t allowed out the front without a grownup, unless they’re coloring with chalk right under my kitchen window on my pathway, that way I can leave the window open while I wash the dishes and hear them. But the other day, my 4 and 2 year old headed for the end of the driveway, and I swooped them up brought them inside, and punished both for not obeying.
But I do let them play in our fenced, locked backyard unsupervised. Between the tattling and asking for snacks, someone is always coming in at 5 minute intervals, so I’m always in contact.
But when we were kids, we had to earn our boundaries. First, we couldn’t leave the front yard, then we got older and couldn’t go past the neighbors on either side, then our street, etc.
But by 7-8 years old, we were given money and a note, had to walk with a buddy, and told to buy cigarettes for our parents at the corner store, and candy with the change. Gee, you don’t see any of THAT anymore, huh?
7. Queen Bee said:
May 1, 2008 @ 4:57 pm
We have the same situation going on here. I actually get annoyed with parents who leave the responsibility on the children or the other adults in their vicinity to keep them safe. It’s ridiculous! I grew up in a similar set of circumstances to Allison, but times oh have they changed. I remember when pedophiles were the exception not the rule, when it was completely natural to go into a new friends house, and when it wasn’t alarming to say that a woman stopped and gave you a lollipop. We have to advocate for the safety of our children which means knowing where they are, who they are with, and what they are doing. I truly feel that tragedies can happen in all walks of life to the best families, but if you withdraw responsibility for your children’s well being you have no argument if something unsavory results from your negligence.