Would You Let Your 8-Year-Old Play at the Park Without You?

A sad occurrence, to be sure. But how many other kids, in Chicago and around the country, went out to play that day and came home safely?

And if you're going to use that argument...

Two days ago, someone was killed in a car accident. You should never drive your car again. It's too dangerous.

It's a little kid playing alone in a park, which is exactly what this article is about. I still think it's valid.

A kid could also be struck by lightning while alone in a park. Or hit by a meteor! Are those also valid reasons not to give your kid the chance to grow and develop?

If you're worried that your child will jump a fence, here's a solution: Teach your kid not to jump any fences. Seriously, if you can't trust your kid to make halfway decent decisions, that's simply proof that you (and your child) NEED to take part in things like this. Start by briefing your kid thoroughly on all the basics--don't leave the park, don't run off with strangers, don't play with broken glass or whatever. Here's what to do if you have a boo-boo or get into an argument with another child. Then give the kid 15 minutes without supervision, if that's all you can handle. Maybe next time you can make it 30.

If a 9-year-old can't be responsible for keeping himself alive at a park for a short period of time, how on earth do you think he's ever going to be able to be a responsible, capable adult??

Two days ago, a child was killed in an auto accident. Are you planning to stop allowing your child to ride in motor vehicles?

This is to the people who are talking about the car accidents:
Riding in a car is pretty much something you have to do, letting your kids play in a park by themselves is an option. There are alot of things in life that are dangerous, and as parents we should try to eliminate the ones that are obivious, and unnecessary. i.e. playing without adult supervision. I think a good alternative to letting your child play alone, is to let them play with a group of children with one of the parents there. Just one. That way, your child is playing without you present, but not without supervision. They would probably feel a little more "free". Parents could even take turns being the "supervisor" so every kid gets a chance to play without their parents.

For the person that presented the example of a car accident, there are safety precautions that you take when driving, and although not everything can be prevented every time, you do take all the precautions necessary to be safe. Just the same, you take safety precautions with your children and supervise them when they play. They can enjoy themselves just the same with you there. Leaving them alone is just trying to prove an unnecessary point. If you can prevent something from happening by just being there, then why not do it. It's just like putting on a seat belt when you drive. Your point would be more valid if she had said to never let your children play in the park, but that's not what she's saying. She was stating that it's unsafe to let them play alone. So to translate that to your example you don't choose to never drive again you but you do make the choice to drive safely and put your seat belt on.

You don't allow your 14 yr old to go to the park alone? That's crazy. I turned 14 in Aug 1991, the highest crime year in US history. We lived in the suburbs north of Boston, and I took the train in to a summer program at MIT nearly every weekday that summer (i.e. starting when I was 13), by myself. My mother wasn't about to spend 3-4 hrs in the car every day when there was a perfectly good train. I didn't have a cellphone -- few people did. North Station and the neighborhood around it were awfully scuzzy in those days. But I never had any problems, and I did have an amazingly good time.

@Heidi -- haha! I moved to NYC from a family-friendly suburb. My mom felt the same way. But I have NEVER felt in danger here & I have lived/spent time in "not so safe"/un-gentrified areas of several Burroughs. It can be very dirty and gross, but that's the most I've encountered. Oh, okay I've been sexually harassed a lot but never to the point of feeling in danger. There's almost always a store to duck into with people around. I've had friends who've had their phones stolen, etc. But I don't know anyone who's ever been physically assaulted or threatened. I think NYC is a great place to grow as a person.

I honestly believe they should raise the driving age to 18. 16 year olds are the leading cause of accidents and almost all of them text and drive. They don't know how to be responsible on the road!

Yes, maybe murder rates are down...but it depends on what part of town you happen to live in Chicago. Maybe some of the crime against children (if it is truly down) is because many parents don't send the kids out alone and allow them to stay home more, drive or take them to school, ball games, friend's houses, etc. Maybe keeping better control of the environment for our kids is not the problem but is part of the solution. I do not feel it is safe for kids to be out by themselves when they are 8 to 12 in many neighbors. Unfortunately, many kids and adults are getting murdered almost every day on the Southside of Chicago...sometimes in their own yards, on their porches, or within in a block of their house (and definitely in parks and playgrounds). More needs to be done to make some neighborhoods safer before even thinking about having our young kids out alone in the parks, playgrounds, etc.