|
|
| *Vultures Knob>>>Road Bike |
At age 5, would you allow your kid to ride bikes up and down the road? |
All the neighborhood kids who are around the same age are allowed to ride up and down the road to different houses as they please. I am extremely uncomfortable with this (even though I am his step mom). Our street is not very busy but there are cars who go quite quickly sometimes. Plus, I don't know the neighbors here well enough to feel safe. I hate to tell him no because then he can't hang out with his friends, but I do tell him no because I'm just not comfortable. My husband's mom tells me that I need to just let go because that's what you do. So I feel pressure from her to go against my instincts. Am I over reacting or is he just too young at 5? I had the same worries when our youngest was 5 and we moved to a new town. I compromised a bit, allowing my son to ride his bike on our road from "this house" to "this house". I later extended his space a few houses further, and now he's allowed to ride the whole block (he's 8). As I met the neighbours I found out that most of them had similar boundaries. Our road is not busy, but we live in the country so the cars that do drive past sometimes drive too fast, and the road is gravel with really deep ditches on each side. I worried a lot, but I talked to my kids a lot about safety, and paying attention to what's going on around them, and taught them to stop their bike and wait for a car to drive past them. I watched closely until I started to feel more confident. So, go with your instincts because only you know how busy the road is, how real the danger is, and how responsible your stepson is. You could just tell him he can only ride if you're outside watching him, at least until you feel more comfortable. And if you find a neighbour whose judgement you trust, talk to her about your worries and see what rules she has. Good luck! Go with your gut! Five years old is too young to be riding up & down the street like that. If he wants to play with friends, then you should know whose house he is going to, or they should come to his house to play. This way you know who he is with and where he is. It's still that way for my 10 year old daughter. She's welcome to play with friends, but she is not allowed to run off wherever: I must know where she is and who she's with. At 10, she isn't allowed to ride in the street, either. You're obviously a good mom. Listen to your instincts. If it was on a street with little traffic yes. There would also need to be an adult or older child to watch them. You also need to look at the maturity of your child. NO! He is young, but make sure he has a helmet and is aware of the dangers of cars. You are right in trusting your instincts and that makes you the bad guy, unforunately. However, it also makes you a very good parent and a great mom!! My daughter is 4 1/2 and I won't let her ride her bike on the road unless I am with her and we live on a country road hardly any traffic. If I let her do it then she'll think she can go in the road whenever and I'm not about to let that happen. So no your not overreacting. Personally his a little to young to be riding up and down the road on a bike UNSUPERVISED, cant you take a lawn chair out and sit and watch him. Kudos for being a caring step mom, i think your pretty smart to have your concerns. |
| Tags |
| Recumbent Bike Bmx Bike Kids Bike Schwinn Bike Cruiser Bike Road Bike Folding Bike Mountain Bike |
Bike Categories--Copyright/IP Policy--Contact Webmaster |