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I find it hard to find the right spot to draw the line, my daughter is 11.
There's a corner store maybe 3/4ths of a mile away that she was allowed to go to, we have a park in the neighborhood that she is allowed to go to and she's allowed to ride her bike within our immediate neighborhood. Her school is a mile away and she'd have to cross a busy street, so that's out.
Last spring and summer, there were 2 luring attempts within a mile of my house. She knows about them and after the second one, she was not allowed to go to the corner store anymore (the second one took place on the road she uses to get there). I realize as a parent I can't be everywhere with her, but how do I let her be independent and still maintain my sanity? She has a phone, has to carry it with her if she's out and about.
When we're out shopping or something, I have no problem letting her go to other departments to look around, but would I let her find her way home if we lived somewhere that had public transportation? Probably not yet. I think if your kids are raised in an environment where that's something commonly used, sure, they'd be ready for that sooner than my kids would be. We don't have any way for her to get home if I were to drop her at the mall or somewhere.
I guess my point is that while I was free to roam at her age, I find it very hard to let go and let her gain that independence. I don't think that woman did anything wrong either, her son obviously knows his way around and was comfortable doing it.
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