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Old 06-05-2009, 05:21 PM
 
Location: Denver 'burbs
24,012 posts, read 28,332,366 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by formercalifornian View Post
I find it really interesting that two of the pro-freedom voices live in the Denver 'burbs.


I just keep thinking - but that's what a bike is for! It's freedom! LOL
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Old 06-05-2009, 05:28 PM
 
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The Denver burbs are in love with their bike paths! I remember the look of sheer joy when my son learned to ride his bike a couple of years ago. I love seeing him revel in his independence. BTW, my daughter just popped in to grab her bathing suit on her way to the swimming pool to meet friends from school.

Update: Swimming is off due to thunder storms. Oh well. Severe weather trumps independence.
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Old 06-05-2009, 05:35 PM
 
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There are many factors to consider here.

First there is the neighborhood. While sidewalks are nice to have, they don't necessarily guarantee safer places to ride than streets. There are many people who back out of their driveways without considering the sidewalk. That means you have to be more aware of the typical drivers in the area. Do you consistently have speeders who don't watch for kids? Do you have a constant stream of cars driving in the area as a short cut to other places? Those kinds of drivers make it less safe for bikers of all ages. And of course, are there any registered sex offenders nearby or neighbors that everyone has an understanding to avoid?

Next, how is your child at bike safety, no matter what age they are? Do they have good spacial awareness and peripheral vision? Do they hear the vehicles coming and react accordingly? Do they show good basic bike safety awareness?
Then, how responsible is your child in general? Do they know what to do in case of an emergency? This could be them or another child getting hurt, or being a witness to something illegal or even the dreaded possibility of abduction/abuse.

If you are in a fairly safe environment that typically poses no danger to the bike riders, your child is very conscientious about their surroundings while riding a bike and is a responsible child, then I see no reason not to give them some leeway in this area.

If it's no on those, then I'd consider limiting them in the area that is most likely to cause problems.

For example, my oldest was a very unaware and uncoordinated rider and our street was the main street used in our neighborhood, especially by teens. No way was she riding anywhere without adult supervision for many years. My second was a much better rider and had more leeway.

By the time my third and fourth arrived we lived in a house that had a horribly sloping driveway, high curbs and no sidewalks and heavy traffic as we were one street off the freeway. Nope not there.

Now we live in a neighborhood that has sidewalks and very little traffic. The younger two (11 and 6) have some freedom, but not completely. There is a registered sex offender a couple of blocks over, so they don't get to go just anywhere whenever they want.
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Old 06-05-2009, 06:57 PM
 
11,642 posts, read 23,801,950 times
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I think that we hear more stories about child predators than we used to hear but I don't think there are actually more of them than there used to be. In earlier times there was not a 24 hour news cycle and the only local news people got was the half hour prior to the evening news. There was no time for the local news to report on this sort of stuff. Now there is 24 hour news reporting and every local station and newspaper has a website where they can report on this stuff all day and all night. We should not confuse more reporting with more occurences.

There is a risk that children may be bothered by a sexual predator. There is also a risk that they will grow up fearful and socially backwards. Each parent needs to balance their own feelings about these risks in a way they feel comfortable.

I personally think it's a little overprotective, but it really doesn't matter what I think. The OP has to make her own decisions based on her family.
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Old 06-05-2009, 07:09 PM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,069,672 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KH02 View Post
NOT ALLOWING an 8 YEAR OLD to ride her bike out of your sight is not an issue of trust of that child. A child is just that a CHILD and cannot defend themselves if anything were to happen (abduction or sexual assault by an adult) It has to do with their safety. Plain and simple.
So letting your 8 year old ride there bike streets away from where you live is NOT an issue of "lettting go" they are 8 for crying out loud.

Just an FYI MOST child abductions happen within 1/4 mile of there home....
98% of all abductions are done by someone known to the child, usually a non-custodial parent. Statically children are safer in the middle of a park alone then they are in their own homes. The world is NOT any less safe then when we were growing up what is different is the MEDIA attention to the abductions, etc. When we were growing up child abuse and molestation and rape was swept under the carpet and the victim was to "blame". Things have changed.

At 8 years old in a safe neighborhood with other kids your child should be plenty responsible enough to go to the park on his or her bike. If they are not responsible enough you have NOT done your job as a parent preparing them to live a life of their own. Now if you live in a neighborhood with drug dealers on the corner and prostitutes walking around at night, that is a different story all together.
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Old 06-05-2009, 07:37 PM
 
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As many of the other posters said, it depends on your neighborhood.

I allow my stepson who is 12 to go to the neighborhood park to play football and also I let him ride his bike over to friends who also live in the neighborhood. He knows that he is not allowed in anyone's' house and to be home before dusk. My neighborhood is full of 8 year olds, tweens and teens riding bikes, skateboards, scooters, etc. My daughter however, is not allowed to ride her bike through the neighborhood without me, not because I'm over-protective, but because I don't feel that she's experienced enough to ride alone on the various streets where sometimes drivers don't pay attention, or teens are speeding. We go out together and ride our bikes through the neighborhood and until I feel that she's able to maneuver and react quickly/safely to cars, then she will be forced to only ride alone on our block
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Old 06-05-2009, 07:42 PM
 
Location: beautiful North Carolina
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I believe the appropriate response would be to do what your gut is telling you to do. Its usually right.
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Old 06-05-2009, 11:27 PM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,618 posts, read 86,571,713 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KH02 View Post
When my children are 8 there is NO WAY they are going anywhere out of my sight.
It is NOT that kind of world anymore. You aren't being overprotective. You are being safe.
I'd rather be safe then sorry god forbid anything happen.
This makes me so sad. Kids have only one childhood.

Do you think kids were so much smarter 50 years ago, that they could learn to ride their bikes around the corner and say No to suggestive people, which kids are not smart enough to learn to do "anymore"?

It is extremely overprotective to expect kids to spend their entire childhood under the nose of their mother.

I used to enjoy the sound of children playing and lauching and having fun. Out my back window I can now hear the voices of children in our complex swimming pool. Every shout from a child starts with "Mommy---" Mommy watch me. Mommy can I . . .? Mommy make him stop. How the hell can that be any fun?

"Not that kind of a world anymore"? Are rivers so much different now, that they have mysteriously become dangerous for kids to swim in them without their parents around? Do vacant lots now have a lot more poisonous snakes in them than they used to, or woods have more bears in them? Is it easier to fall out of trees? Do bikes tip over easier? What do you think has changed?

Last edited by jtur88; 06-05-2009 at 11:36 PM..
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Old 06-06-2009, 08:29 AM
 
467 posts, read 979,580 times
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too general a question. Depends on the individuals, their personalities, where they live and what it is like there as far as traffic and crime and what the neighbors may be like.

All I can say is nowadays, no way I'd let my kids do anything alone until they are big or skilled enough to defend against an adult. Its not a safe world anymore like when we were kids and you could ride your bike all over hither and yon and you knew nothing bad would happen.
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Old 06-06-2009, 09:14 AM
 
901 posts, read 2,978,442 times
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Alone, no. With other children, yes I would allow it. As far as the children being abducted, I don't think that a child would leave their friends to get in a car with strangers (especially since these topics are discussed in schools and at home). Of course, if the neighborhood is very dangerous(i.e. gangs, shooting, lots of drugs) then I would not want them to go riding in small groups.
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