[JustinsMama]

Where in Florida is a decent place to live about an hour or less from Disney and not a bunch of lakes around. I have this (probably irrational) fear of alligators interacting with my 6 year old (though he would at least be 8 or so by the time we might move).

I don't let him out of my sight to play outside now but know that I can't be hovering over him his entire childhood. He has adhd so I'm just concerned about when he's older and off by himself or other friends not wanting to deal with him trying to explore at lakes, etc. where alligators might be, etc.

Okay, am I being irrational?

Thanks in advance!

[Big House]

Originally Posted by HPage

Where in Florida is a decent place to live about an hour or less from Disney and not a bunch of lakes around. I have this (probably irrational) fear of alligators interacting with my 6 year old (though he would at least be 8 or so by the time we might move).

I don't let him out of my sight to play outside now but know that I can't be hovering over him his entire childhood. He has adhd so I'm just concerned about when he's older and off by himself or other friends not wanting to deal with him trying to explore at lakes, etc. where alligators might be, etc.

Okay, am I being irrational?

Thanks in advance!

A good friend of mine, got a map, with a pin, some string, and a pencil and drew a cicle from the center of Disney World / Orlanda out about 90 miles. That worked for driving distance, and he figured that anyone that came to visit him wouldn't mind that driving distance. That would probably equate to about 60 miles / minutes or so form where you may want to end up. He found an agent in the area that helped him out with the rest. -- I asked him why he didn't use a compass, and he said cuz it worked and it was cheaper. - That was good enough for me.

Good Luck!

[runswithscissors]

Yes you're being irrational but that's ok, you never know about parenting older kids till your kid reaches that age lol.

IMO you won't be leaving him out of your sight anyway and the days of wandering around in nature are a thing of the past. You have homeless and crimnals formally living in the parks even put in tents by the state!

You will have to be strict about knowing his whereabouts. I found all kinds of nonsense going on by PARENTS when my kid was growing up. Like showing fright films to 7 year olds and leaving the kids unattended for the entire night when they told me they'd be home....alligators are the least of your worries.

All these ads for LAKES are mostly bogus anyway they are water retention ponds that developers put in. But they are everywhere so ....

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by Big House

A good friend of mine, got a map, with a pin, some string, and a pencil and drew a cicle from the center of Disney World / Orlanda out about 90 miles. That worked for driving distance, and he figured that anyone that came to visit him wouldn't mind that driving distance. That would probably equate to about 60 miles / minutes or so form where you may want to end up. He found an agent in the area that helped him out with the rest. -- I asked him why he didn't use a compass, and he said cuz it worked and it was cheaper. - That was good enough for me.

Good Luck!

That's EXACTLY how the Sex Offender site works

You put an address in, and the computer draws a big circle with a radiobutton for each offender.

[faithfulFrank]

If it helps, we have a "lake" behind our house. (Floridians call it a lake....it is a pond to me! ) But it is spring fed and full year round, unlike the retention ponds that seem to be everywhere.

Anyway, there is a big gator in there sometimes....but it seems very afraid of people and runs away very fast when anyone gets within 100 yards of him, (or her?)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/faithfulFrank/100_1561.jpg (broken link) This was taken from my back yard.
The point I'm making is that it seems more scared of us then we are if it. Of course, I have no little kids around.....

I think someone comes and gets them when they get this big.....

Frank D.

[JustinsMama]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I have a feeling that no matter where we are, ours will be the house where all the kids are welcome to come hang out. I'd rather be watching a few extra and know they are safe rather than let mine be out doing who knows what.

[Nomadicus]

Gators, what gators? Well that is not a fear to hang on to. I grew up here and remember the way it was 50 years ago. Simple rule of the gators is never, never, never feed them. That will get you fined, killed, or maybe in prison. To many people no matter how well meaning feed gators. Then they get tame and then the trouble starts and the gator loses. One good rule to follow is never take a dog for a walk down to the lake with kids in charge of the dog. Gators sort of view dogs like I would a basket of fried chicken according to my late father. The dog splashes around in the water and the kid be the slowest runner. Bicycles are much more deadly than gators. Swimming pools vs gators? Children at play around the house have accidents more often than you hear of a child getting gator got. Just trying to be honest and give some horse sense feed back for you. Gators are protected by law. There is a brief harvest season but it is brief.

For your up close view of a real gator. This old gal is kind of cute don't ya think?

[JustinsMama]

Don't get me wrong, I find alligators, crocodiles, dinosaurs, etc. fascinating just don't want my kid getting up close and personal with one in nature whether accidentally or on purpose.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by HPage

Thanks for the responses everyone. I have a feeling that no matter where we are, ours will be the house where all the kids are welcome to come hang out. I'd rather be watching a few extra and know they are safe rather than let mine be out doing who knows what.

That's exactly what I did cuz mine was an only child. Every weekend I had a guest OR he went to the homes of the 8 families in my crowd that I could trust and we were all best friends and had bbq and swim type parties each weekend anyway. We treated each kid like our own and those were the rules and we knew each others rules. Here in Fl it may be tricky but I wouldnt worry about the wildlife, BUT I would educate myself about the snakes, habits etc.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by Nomadicus

For your up close view of a real gator. This old gal is kind of cute don't ya think?

Very cute, in fact if I could, I'd enjoy living near some....except for the cruelty part of humans against animals. I try and avoid witnessing that!