https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:38:12 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/send-kids-to-the-market-alone#post-1890751 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 17:16:53 +0000 shopaholic 1890751@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Corduroy: That's really interesting! I think our city would be safe enough, but the blocks and neighborhoods are so big, I think the popsicle would melt halfway! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/send-kids-to-the-market-alone#post-1890636 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 15:27:58 +0000 namaste 1890636@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>A lot of parents in my town send their kids to the market alone. They definitely are always at Starbucks alone, as young as 7. I'm not sure that I would, our supermarket is also accessible to a major highway so it makes me uncomfortable. :/ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/send-kids-to-the-market-alone#post-1890121 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 10:56:56 +0000 Cole 1890121@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>How awesome. We live in a pretty safe area and it is the norm for kids to walk to and from school with friends around third grade but I don't think I have ever seen kids that young going to the store (same distance) alone. Letting them go into the ice cream shop alone while I sit outside wouldn't be an issue though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/send-kids-to-the-market-alone#post-1889800 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 08:20:49 +0000 blackbird 1889800@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Children in Japan just do their own thing, it's pretty neat! They also don't have kidnapping the way they do here. My LO's won't be able to go to the market by themselves until they can drive there! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/send-kids-to-the-market-alone#post-1889785 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 08:13:34 +0000 Corduroy 1889785@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're nowhere near the age yet but I'm hoping around 8 LO can go buy a treat at the corner store about 3 blocks away. She would be walking through our neighborhood to a store she was familiar with. </p> <p>We don't have sidewalks the whole way so I'm not sure if that would be possible. </p> <p>I read about the "popscicle test" a long time ago and it influenced where we bought our house. <a href="http://www.freerangekids.com/passing-the-popsicle-test/" rel="nofollow">http://www.freerangekids.com/passing-the-popsicle-test/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/send-kids-to-the-market-alone#post-1889667 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 02:35:28 +0000 gracecat 1889667@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes it feels very safe here but we do hear of pervs targeting kids once in a while. In general kids go to school and activities alone at a much much younger age! But child safety is an issue in other areas such as letting kids run free in the car not even belted in let alone in a car seat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/send-kids-to-the-market-alone#post-1889649 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 01:05:49 +0000 Skadi 1889649@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Kimberlybee: @shopaholic: It has English subtitles as annotations! Sorry, I assumed it would come on automatically for everyone... To turn on annotations, click the bottom right Settings button on the video and a menu will pop up asking if you want annotations on or off. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/send-kids-to-the-market-alone#post-1889643 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 00:41:45 +0000 shopaholic 1889643@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is hilarious and so so adorable! I feel like they could not be more than 3 and 5 y/o? I think the girl seems younger than 3 even! </p> <p>@Kimberlybee: Me too! Wish there were subtitles! I was also a latch-key kid. Actually, I rebelled and refused to go to the babysitter's house one day (I was supposed to walk there) in kindergarten. Walked myself home every day after that and stayed by myself until my parents got home. Of course, now it would be illegal and shocking, but I remember always being very independent. I can't ever imagine feeling okay with that until maybe junior high? Maybe a very close-by store around 9 or 10? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/send-kids-to-the-market-alone#post-1889640 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 00:20:12 +0000 Kimberlybee 1889640@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This was so adorable! I wish there were English subtitles, I would have loved to know what the siblings were saying. They are so so cute. I was a latch key kid growing up in the 80's and my parents were workaholics so I walked everywhere as early as 5 years old. Looking back I am amazed that nothing too traumatic happened. I remember my little friend and I (also 5 years old) played outside without supervision. We just walked around the neighborhood and got lost so we thought we should cross a busy street to get home and almost got ran over. Luckily, there was a police car in the traffic and took us home. We told him the name of the apartments we lived at. He just dropped us off at the front of the apartments and didn't even file a report or ask to speak with our parents. Times have really changed a lot. I am not sure when I would let my child walk to the store, depending how far it was also, maybe 13 or 14? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/send-kids-to-the-market-alone#post-1889617 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 22:39:24 +0000 sunny 1889617@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I saw an episode of this when we were flying from Japan. It was fascinating! I don't know when I would allow my LO to go alone anywhere. We don't live by any stores so she would need to walk a looooooong way or take the bus. I think she would have to be older than 12! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/send-kids-to-the-market-alone#post-1889599 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 22:13:32 +0000 Skadi 1889599@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In Japan, I understand that it's customary to send young children grocery shopping by themselves. The very first errand they go on without adult supervision is seen as something of a milestone, and they have a reality show that follows the kids with hidden cameras to show how well they fare. <b>Turn on YouTube annotations using the settings button on the bottom right of the video below to see the English translation!</b></p> <p><a href="http://youtu.be/e5k5XTZy0rA" rel="nofollow">http://youtu.be/e5k5XTZy0rA</a></p> <p>As someone who digs free range parenting, I love this and wish I could move to Japan! Unfortunately, if we ever did anything like this--even if we lived next door to a grocery store in a sleepy small town--someone would probably call CPS on us. It's interesting how different things are in other countries! </p>