Bike Riding Boundaries...

[akmom]

How far would you let a seven-year-old ride her bike alone?

In the past, my daughter has been allowed to ride between two points, about 50 yards apart. That's because our neighbors have vicious dogs that they can't remember to restrain or pay any attention to, and I got tired of dealing with it. Now those neighbors have moved, and it's a quiet block again, with just a few quiet dogs on leashes, or whose owners actually walk with them. So there is not that immediate threat of getting chased down and knocked over the second you pass by the wrong house.

I'm considering letting her ride the entire loop, which is maybe 1/4 mile. Only a portion of it is visible from our house, and at least half the neighborhood is undeveloped (so no houses). She could still encounter a stray dog, or less commonly, a bear. And of course the smaller, unlikely risks like abduction. Either way, there might not be anyone around to see or assist her.

I don't know. I rode my bike all over our neighborhood at that age, and encountered the occasional problem, but survived. Should I give her a cell phone and let her ride free, or at age seven should she still be closely supervised?

 

[mom2many]

Walkie-talkies!

Mine has a decent amount of freedom, but they have to carry the walker-talkies if they are gonna be out of my sight.

 

[cybele]

Unfortunately this is something my kids have missed out on, we live on a curved, narrow, unpaved road with no sidewalk that people speed up and down, that is off a bigger, curvier, paved road with no sidewalk, but a dramatic drop off one side and a dramatic incline on the other that people speed even faster up and down. Our area is a novelty for experienced cyclists because of the hills, but enough of them get hit by cars for me to know that a child wouldn't stand a chance.

I guess if we lived on a suburban street I would probably let them go the length of the street and back.

 

[IADad]

i struggle with this too. I don't let my 7yo past my sight (or at least not past where my sight is restored within a few seconds. Too many variables - he forgets to look for traffic, then the dnagers (ok I'm probably paranoid about abduction, but with an estranged grandmother, it's better safe than sorry.)

I'm guessing rabbits probably pose much less of a danger for us than your bears....

 

[singledad]

I'm with cybele - although the roads around my house isn't winding and don't feature drop-offs, they are narrow, and people often drive like maniacs, in spite of the fact that officially, pedestrians (and children on bikes) have right of way. I simply don't think my daughter is ready to take responsibility for her own safety on the road, therefor I won't let her ride out of my sight. I let her ride around the streets while I jog beside her, which she enjoys, but I won't go beyond that yet.