# What age to play outside alone?



## cc_mama (May 22, 2007)

Experiences and opinions please....please include type of location you live (city, suburb, small town, rural), any other particulars.

DD is 3yo and we live in the outer most ring of suburbs and have a fenced backyard. With new lo here and trying to get things done we are considering letting her play in the backyard by herself. I would have doors and windows open so she would be within earshot 98% of the time. I would also check on her every 10-15 minutes.

What are your thoughts? When did you let your lo's play outside alone?


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## Katie T (Nov 8, 2008)

In your situation if you knew she wouldn't leave I may, it depends on the child. I have a 3 1/2 yo and we live in a very small town (850 population). And I totally trust he wouldn't wander off, BUT I don't trust some stranger not to come get him. I have been known to be a little uptight, but just cause I live in a small town not every one IN my town on a day to day basis is from here yk?

I do sit in our bay window and watch him if I can't be outside with him (ie: his little sister is nappin, our room is on the other end of the house and no baby monitor) but usually his little sister and I are outside with him.

I will let him go outside with his big sister who will be ten this month.


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## snoopy5386 (May 6, 2005)

If I had a fenced yard I would be fine with a 3 yo playing outside with minimal supervision - windows open, checking every 5-15 mins or so. We live on a dead end street with only 7 houses and no backyard - we have a front yard, a driveway and a tiny back patio. DD will be 4 on Saturday and I am ok with her being outside alone for a few mins at a time - ie if I need to go to the bathroom, get a drink, change the laundry, etc. I also let her out alone with our 9 yo neighbor. I will also work in one part of the yard with her in another - out of my eyesight but not out of earshot. I'm sure with a new baby coming any day now, we'll be doing a lot more "in and out" this summer. I'm hoping by next year she'll be ok to be outside on her own. I'm mostly worried about car traffic or her wandering down the street to our very busy main road.
I was surprised about how much I had to review the "rules" with her in the past couple of weeks - the nice weather just hit here and we haven't been outside in months due to tons of snow and cold weather. Once she wandered over onto our neighbor's property looking for her and another time she went in the house without telling me - both times I was outside with her but not actively "watching her" and I had NO idea where she was. Now she knows to tell mommy if she wants to go inside and that she is not allowed to leave our yard/driveway without permission.


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## ramama (Apr 13, 2007)

I live in a "city" of about 350K, but it's more like any overly-large suburb (Colorado Springs). We live in a townhouse in a fenced (but not "gated") rental development, very family-friendly neighborhood. I let my daughter have the run of the neighborhood at age 5 without supervision (I mean, I made sure she was with other children and that I heard from her often). This spring, I've let my 4yo out with my oldest DD (now 6) but I require them to stay much closer to home than I would let DD1 go if DD2 weren't with her.

If I had a fenced backyard, I would let a 3yo play out there alone.


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## MoonWillow (May 24, 2006)

Yup my 3 yo DD plays out back in the fenced yard (when our pool is not open). I can see her through each window as I move around the house.


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## jocelyndale (Aug 28, 2006)

I let my son play on our gated deck last summer (2-2.5)---with doors and windows open. His sand table and basketball hoop are out there. We can't see most of our yard from the house due to the way the house is situated (hill, ranch-style with small/high windows), so I doubt I'd let him play alone out there yet, but he doesn't want to. I'm struggling to find a way to make him WANT to play in the yard so that I can get some gardening done.


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## MoonStarFalling (Nov 4, 2004)

We lived in a village (500 people) with a fenced yard and I started letting my kids play outside when they were younger than that. By age 2-3 I would feel totally comfortable. DD was even younger since she had an older brother and she was not at all adventurous.


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## MJB (Nov 28, 2009)

I let my oldest son play in our fenced in backyard at 2.5. My second son was younger than that, but had an older brother and was very advanced.


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## LittleBlessings (May 26, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MoonWillow* 
Yup my 3 yo DD plays out back in the fenced yard (when our pool is not open). I can see her through each window as I move around the house.

me too


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## elmh23 (Jul 1, 2004)

I let my dd start playing out there by themselves around 2ish. I think ds was more like 18 months, but was always with is sister when outside. Our two dogs keep the kids company and I have no problem letting the four of them out back together without me. I also will open up the window that is right next to our gate (the only way in to the yard) just to make sure no one goes out and there is also a lock on the gate.


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## mamadelbosque (Feb 6, 2007)

DS1 is 3 (3/07) and plays outside by himself now, with me/ DH keeping an eye out for him every few minutes out the windows/door. Of course, we're the last ones on a dead-end dirt road, so theres *no* traffic (if a car comes down the road you look out the window to see who it is... usually its trash guy/township/dh/dad/me/ups or fedex... anyone else is either hunting or lost


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## Hey Mama! (Dec 27, 2003)

I'm letting my 4 year old play outside right now, but I usually don't let her out alone without her older sisters. She's on our big front porch with new sidewalk chalk. I have our window open and she is alternating between coloring on the porch and swinging on the porch swing. We live in a small town (4,000) but we live on the main road. If we had a fence I'd let her out into the yard as well.


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## pixels99 (Jul 8, 2009)

I let my DD play in our back yard alone. She is not quite two. The yard is fenced, and she isn't tall enough to open the gates herself yet. The dog is always out with her, and he would let me know if anybody walked by, let alone came near the yard. I have windows open and frequently peek out at them. There is nothing in the yard that she can not play with. Pretty much only balls and grass out there. No pool, grill or poisonous plants.

We live in a suburb. We're on a dead-end street, though we're only two houses from the intersection where there is a fair amount of traffic during rush hour.


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## Evan&Anna's_Mom (Jun 12, 2003)

We live in a suburban area of a big city. We have a fenced back yard and safety-netted pool. DS was allowed to play outside alone by about 2 1/2 or 3, and DD from about 2, but her big brother was out there as well. They are now 7 and 10 have are allowed to roam the neighborhood as long as they stay within earshot of each other and DS has his cell phone with him and turned on.

When the kids were preschool aged I did a weekly check to make sure I fixed any hazards. And I generally took a quick look to ensure the gate was closed and locked as they went outside.


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## mamazee (Jan 5, 2003)

I live in a small town area with a fenced-in backyard, and my dd was out there alone at 3. I think it was right around when we moved here that she got to go out, as where we lived before it would have been more difficult (big city suburban, maybe I just had a different comfort level or something.) I'd check on her every so often, but she was fine and loved it, and got tons of exercise and had no interest in TV thanks to the freedom.

By 4.5 she was going to a couple of neighbors' houses when she wanted so long as we watched her get over there. By 6 she had a zone of freedom in our neighborhood, and now at 8 she has free reign in the entire neighborhood. She still has no interest in the TV when the weather is nice, and gets TONS of exercise, thanks to the freedom she has.


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

We live on a quiet street with a fenced in backyard. I'm comfortable letting my kids all outside together (9, 6, 4 and 2), or any combination of them out there, but not the two year old by himself yet.


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## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

We have completely privacy-fenced in backyard that is also gated. IOW...our garage and, therefore, a large part of our driveway extends to the back of the house. DH put in a gate in the driveway last summer. Our home is also a 50's style brick ranch and we have a very large picture window in the kitchen. With that set-up I have absolutely no problems letting my 20 month DD and 3.5 yr DS out there by themselves. Everytime I pass a window I'm constantly scanning the yard to see them.


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## mamaw/two (Nov 21, 2005)

My oldest dd was not out by herself til 5 1/2 yrs old, but the younger kids have all been out with siblings by around 2 1/2 yrs old. We have a large fenced yard (it's almost a whole acre), so I keep the windows open but if they are way out back it's possible that I wouldn't hear them.


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## lunarlady (Jan 4, 2010)

My DD has been playing outside alone since she was 2.5. We have a very large, fenced back yard in the suburbs. Each spring I go out and make sure that the yard is child safe (no plastic bags blown in, no random sharp objects, etc.) Then I check every few weeks all summer long. When she wants to go out I leave the screen door open so I can hear if she calls, but she is pretty preditable just playing on her little slide and/or wandering through the veggie garden. I check up on her every 10-20 minutes, just to make sure she didn't find something I missed.

I do NOT let her play out front without supervison as DD is very independent and strong willed and would be very likely to set out on her own for the park/ice cream parlor/etc.


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