13 years ago
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Supervision of outdoor play
I've been thinking...at what point and age can kids play in the backyard alone? Austin all of a sudden wants to be outside all the time! I don't mind going out a few times a day but Vivian and I get bored after a while. We literally have nothing in our backyard for him to play with expect toy mowers, baseball stuff and bubbles. I called home the other day and asked Nick what they were doing and he was inside cleaning the closet while Austin was outside playing. I kind of freaked but it doesn't take much for me to freak. Since then I have gone back and forth with the issue. What if there was a snake and he picks it up, or he opens the gate and goes in the front yard? There are lots of what ifs I guess. So far, I have decided that he can be outside in the backyard if I am with him, or if I am in the kitchen and can see him from the window...no sneaking inside the doghouse to pretend he is a puppy and no playing on the side of the house where I can't see him. I am curious as to what other parents have decided about outdoor play and supervision. This is all new for me. :)
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7 comments:
Hi April,
As soon as my kids can walk well on their own and manage the small jungle gym that we have, they are free to be out in the back with no supervision. Our backyard isn't huge and I don't think there are any snakes back there :), so I feel totally fine with Macy and Charlie alone in the back while I am doing other things. Emma, I haven't let out in back yet with them because she is still iffy on the jungle gym. This week we were visiting relatives and they had a great time playing in their backyard with no fence and running the house by themselves with their cousins and we didn't loose anyone.
Don't worry, he will be fine, let him play in the backyard by himself.
i have started letting camden play in the backyard by himself just in the past few weeks. our yard is completely fenced and he's not able to open any of the gates. there's really not much for him to get into besides his jungle gym, sandbox, and all his other outdoor stuff, so i feel like he's fine. i cook dinner or whatever inside and just peek on him every 5 or 10 minutes. like austin, he loves being out there...and i really do feel like he's safe.
I let them begin going out by themselves about Austin's age. I had the advantage of all three of them together, with Delaney as the mother hen. I took our baby monitor receiver and placed it outside. I don't know if that would work for you. But, this made me feel better.
He is definitely old enough to understand not to open the gate and go in the front yard, if you tell him not to.
I think I let Cason go out by himself around age 2. Kendall goes outside with him without me all the time. I usually keep a door or window cracked so I can hear them and I make frequent check.
Let him play out there by himself. I promise you'll both be happier!
Hey! Your blog is so cute! How did you get it so cute! I am so new to this! How old is Austin? I think it depends on the kid. We live in a third floor apartment and have a sand box out on our big balcony. None of the other neighbors trust their kids to play on their balconies, but Rachel is almost 5 and really trustworthy. They just have to stick to the rules about not peeking over or climbing and no throwing things over. Also, I stay next to the door so I peek at them every 10 seconds. Good luck!
When they turned 3 I let them. I check on them a lot but I need to keep my sanity!
We let Jefferson go out back to play and a lot of times Jackson goes with him. We check on them but we let them do their thing. I know they can't get out of the gate but as for snakes, I am not sure. We have two dogs and I am sure if there was a problem we would know about it. But then again snakes, spiders, getting dirty, getting hurt and exploring is just part of being a boy.
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