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I take after my mom. I could be dropped in the middle of a new town and find my way around with no problem. Then I could find my way home.
My younger sister is the opposite. I joke that she could get lost in her living room. She has lived in the same county her entire life and still gets turned around. She is 31.
My daughter takes after me. She is 7 and I have no concerns about her finding her way home. When she was 2, Grandma (her other grandma, who gets lost and only lived about 5 miles from me) picked her up from day care and started heading to my house with her. DD corrected her when she missed a turn and was even able to show her an alternate route home so Granda didn't have to make a U-turn.
A couple of weeks ago, she was at a friends house in a town that I don't think she had ever been to before which was about 15 miles away from home on roads we don't take regularly. The mom had never been to my house before, but DD was able to give her perfect directions to get her home.
She just seems to have a great internal compass. It also helps that she is very observant. She notices any little changes when we are out and about.
My 16 and 18 year old have drivers licenses. I truly hope they can find their way home. My 13 year old has always had a good sense of direction and could find his way home from a very young age (4 or 5).
My oldest has no sense of direction and no innate ability to find her way where she needs to be.
. . . .
My husband is more like my oldest and I am more like my son.
This is impossible. Everyone knows men have built in nose compasses and internal guidance systems. That is why we never need to stop and ask for directions. In addition, men are never lost. Sometimes however we decide to do a little exploring on our way somewhere just to get to know new areas.
My kids know their way around the neighborhood, and the four or five other neighborhoods nearby. Further than that, I don't think either of them could find their way home. I'm going to start taking the city bus with them now and then so they get practice with finding their way around.
This is impossible. Everyone knows men have built in nose compasses and internal guidance systems. That is why we never need to stop and ask for directions. In addition, men are never lost. Sometimes however we decide to do a little exploring on our way somewhere just to get to know new areas.
lol
He will even take the wrong street heading somewhere and has no idea he's gone wrong....
Did anyone else notice that the kids were trick-or-treating? Things look a lot different when it is dark and houses are decorated for the holiday. A child who has no problem during the day with navigation might find it more difficult at night.
This isn't really about an age but more about a persons ability in spatial awareness. Some people are born with an innate ability to easily learn and identify their surroundings using things like landmarks or routes while other people are born without this ability. As adults some learn how to maneuver while others may not do so well.
Same here, mine is in her twenties and could not find her way out of a paper bag. Can't read a map to save her life, thank heavens for smart phones and GPS.
Her brother on the other hand has always been pretty competent at finding his way around. He takes after his mom in that regard.
Ours can, but sometimes when I went to drive some of their teen aged frinds home, they did not know how to get there. More tha once we had to go to the high school and re-trace the bus route to their home, buecase that is the only way then knew how to get there.
Occaisionally some of them cannot find their own house even after they start driving. It is kind of amusing and sad at the same time.
Good Idea.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom
My kids know their way around the neighborhood, and the four or five other neighborhoods nearby. Further than that, I don't think either of them could find their way home. I'm going to start taking the city bus with them now and then so they get practice with finding their way around.
Quite true, and especially relevant to this thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by passwithoutatrace
Did anyone else notice that the kids were trick-or-treating? Things look a lot different when it is dark and houses are decorated for the holiday. A child who has no problem during the day with navigation might find it more difficult at night.
Thank you everyone for posting.
I've picked these three posts for their relevance.
The reason for me starting this thread, was that I think Children need to know where they are, almost all of the time, (adults too, to an extent).
The fact that they were trick or treating, is a big part of this. While we were doing this pestering, there were other Children that didn't have any grown ups with them, these Children were knocking on strangers' doors, not knowing where they were while doing so. If they had been attacked, or even dragged into any of these houses, they wouldn't have known where to try to get to, to get help.
Even if they had had their mobile phones with them, they wouldn't have been able to tell anyone where they were.
Sobering thoughts, maybe.
Sorry it took me so long to get back to this thread.
In my late 20's, I once got completely lost a block away from our house. I was coming home from work late at night, wasn't really paying attention and took a wrong turn. I drove around in a panic for twenty minutes until I happened to come across some teens hanging out on their doorstep (it was about midnight) and they were able to direct me home. I have NO spatial awareness and never have.
I think even more important than a child knowing where they are is the child knowing information to help get them home. An older child is likely to have a cell phone to call for assistance if they get lost. But a young child should always know their phone number and address, and be taught how to go into a store and ask for assistance.
My mom once saw a little girl trip and gash up her knees outside our house. She was upset and crying, so my mom took her into our house to clean her up (not recommended in this day and age, but my mom still remembers when parents didn't assume everyone was out to eat their babies.) The girl was 7 or 8 and could NOT tell my mother her phone number or address. A few minutes later the mom came looking for after being told by a neighbor what had happened. Mom gave her a lecture about letting her child wander around without knowing any of her own information.
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