I am having a disagreement with my neighbor over my own child. In her defense, she is in her 70’s and is from a time where children had more freedom, and probably a bit more common sense.

Anyway, she thinks I should let my 10-year-old daughter get on her bike and ride it through the neighborhood freely and unsupervised. Besides the fact that it is none of her business, I think that at 10 years old, she needs to be close enough to hear my voice should I call for her. That means she should be no more than 200 feet away from the house. With a circular cul-de-sac in front of my house, there is plenty of space to play and ride.

Just this week in the local news is more than enough disturbing reasons for holding my children close. The first is of three boys aged 7, 10, and 11 are being prosecuted in juvenile court for starting a brush fire that destroyed several homes this past week.

Another child is missing. Apparently, his grandmother had warned him to stay away from the mobile home across the street. Now they think one of the people from that home kidnapped and possibly killed him. She knew there was a child sex offender across the street, but failed to keep her eye on him.

These things happen when children are left unsupervised. While I believe at some point, you have to allow children more freedom I feel that 11 and 12 are appropriate ages to start allowing children to roam (with instructions and cell phones). Until then, I think it is our jobs to supervise, advise, and help them problem solve so they will be equipped when they are old enough to explore on their own. My 12-year-old son does have a cell phone and is allowed to go for long walks by himself and visit with neighborhood kids.

Do you have an opinion on this matter? What are the reasons for how you feel?