In our neighborhood, there are quite a few 1st-3rd graders that wander the neighborhood every day playing at different houses, etc. Is it just me or doesn't that seem a little too young to be letting your children go play and not know where they are? I think so. We made the mistake of letting a few of them come in and play one day when Walter had a classmate (which was prearranged with his mom and I) over. When I answered the door I was surprised to see four kids I didn't know, though I did recognize then from the bus stop, standing there. They asked if they could come in to play. They new Walter's friend and that must be why they came. I couldn't think of a reason on the spot why they couldn't so I let them. I of course assumed that Walter knew them. No, he didn't. Boy was that a mistake. Now they come all the time and ask to play with Walter. Now correct me if I am wrong, but isn't it not appropriate to invite yourself to play at someone's house? At least that was what I was taught growing up. Luckily, lately I have had lots of great excuses why they can't come in to play, such as "Sunday is family day", "Walter's daddy is sleeping right now since he worked all night", and "Walter' baby brother and sister are sick right now". What I really want to say is, "you know it isn't appropriate for you to be inviting yourself to play." And what about their parents? Why don't they want their children to spend time at home after being gone all day at school? I know I want Walter home after school. I miss him when he is at school and so does Jem and Rilla. I realize I may be a little over protective but I would rather be over protective than live with the regret if something happens to my children. Plus, I want to prevent them from getting hurt or getting into trouble if I can.
1 comment:
No, I don't think you are being overprotective. My rules are that I'm totally ok with Sparky going outside after school as long as he's within my sight lines. The weather is so rarely nice around here that if it is nice the whole neighborhood goes out and its very fun to see all the kids take over the street. I generally find something to do either in the front room or front yard to keep my eye on things. There will be no going into someone else's house though. He knows I need to see and hear him. He also knows he's in charge of keeping an eye on his brother and sister and can't ditch them. Furthermore, going to someone else's house requires the mommas to talk to each other. I've made a few exceptions for the "oldest kid in the family" here and there because they do deserve some special privileges - but certainly not on a daily basis.
These are my rules and I'm sticking to them.
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