I found this great article on free range children (aka simple living with kids) full of lots of advice.

Funny, I had the same comment from a parent at school after I let my 4th grader walk to school with a friend (he was a block ahead of me ~ I had to walk his younger sister anyway). Another Mom said in all seriousness, "I wish I could do it. I'm planning on driving my kids until they graduate from high school".

globeandmail.com: The free-range child

What are your thoughts on free-range parenting?

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i think we are a good mix of this and activities my boys are in one activity and after homework is completed they go outside(weather permiting) and play.. my kids would rather play than watch tv or be on the run constantley. when i was a kid we did just play until it got dark... i think as a family we have a good balance life is not to stressful we are never late or running around for the most part and that suits us just fine. but what works for some may not work for others.

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My DH and I actually give our kids a balance of this "free range children". They have their structured time, but also the time just to be a kid and to also learn from life experience. We have had our neighbors comment on that, they love seeing that in our kids (YAH, we're doing something right for parenting! ).
My DH and I grew up like this and part could be we grew up on farms were you did learn life lessons at an early age. You had pets, but yes they can get hit by vehicles and baby piglets do grow up and go to market. My DH and I also remember playing outside until it got dark and then turning on the yardlight to play some more.
Enough rambling, if any of it makes sense.
Children, yes need to be sheltered and protected, but to a certain extent, IMO.

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That is an interesting article. I don't plan on my kids being in every single activity, but I don't know how I will be when it gets to that age. If they enjoy it and their education isn't compromised, then it will probably be hard to say no. I am also a worry wort when it comes to the kids, I hope I'm not one of those mom's who has to be right there all the time.

I know we were only allowed on extracurricular activity at a time. That was nice. I remember riding my bike to my friend's houses when I was in about 6th grade or so - and they lived about 2 to 5 miles away. We would also ride our bikes or rollerblade to town (2 miles), and wander around like that. Of course, town was a whole 2000 people or so, one stoplight. I remember playing outside with my brother when we were really young, usually "alone". We made up all sorts of games. We got disgustingly filthy too, that's what the garden hose was for!

I don't think *I* could handle the running around lifestyle. If I get too many things planned in a day - like more that one appointment LOL - then I start running late and getting frustrated.

There's a lot to learn in life from playing.

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My husband and I struggle with this one. I'm more "free range" with the children and he wants activities every hour of the day. Well not really but his opinion is the more the better. And his reasoning, which I understand but can't always agree with, is that out of the four kids in his family he is the only one that turned out "good" and he credits that to having so many activities and so little time to get into trouble. Which is true -- to a point. I also credit his behavior due to some smart choices on his part and his ability to pick very grounded friends.

So we're working on a nice middle ground. It also helps that our oldest doesn't do well with lots of scheduled activities and my husband is understanding that.

I agree with the majority of the article. I think kids are way overscheduled nowadays. It's no wonder kids of today have so much anxiety, stress, and depression. My dd is in NO extracurricular activities right now. There's nothing she's interested in and I'm not going to force her to do something that she doesn't want to do. I love for us to be able to relax after school without having to race through homework and dinner so I can run her to some activitiy.

I do question allowing a 9 year old to ride a subway and stay home by himself. The laws in some states would view this as child neglect. Although I've never done it, I wouldn't have a problem leaving my 9 year old by herself for a short period of time, but I don't think I could let dd do the subway thing alone (heck, I've never even ridden a subway ).

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I agree with the scheduling piece but not the unsupervised trips to the store or leaving them at home.

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I love the "Free Range" label! I agree with most of the article, but I disagree that we live in a world that is just as safe as when I grew up (and I know that wasn't necessarily safe either!). I tend to be cautious about friend's homes, and I have a boundary for roaming.

Marlene

My 7 year old walks to school. The school is only like 1 mile away even if that. It is just beyond the railroad tracks behind us. I pick him up from school because he has to have a note everyday otherwise. Now that it is nice I can walk to pick him up. It is nice to not have to load the kids up in the morning and waste gas just to drive 5 minutes to drop him off at school. My dad was too overprotective growing up. I want my child to be safe but I think he should be able to do some things on his own. Although I wouldn't let him roam the mall or even Wal-Mart by himself I do let him look around at the toys at the Dollar store while I look at the things I need. Suprisingly though my dad did let me take long bike rides. I remember riding everywhere I wanted to go before I had a car and license even to work. I didn't do it in the winter of course but no wonder I was in great shape

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Mom to Kellan 12-16-2000
Brooklyn 12-27-2005
Nolan 10-15-2007
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