Learning about the story of Nevaeh Buchanan, a 5 year old who was kidnapped and murdered, it got me wondering: is it normal for parents to let their young children play outside, late in the evening, alone?
Granted, Nevaeh's mother Jennifer, thought her daughter was at her friend's place - close enough that she could watch her daughter enter the friends house (as Jennifer claims she did).
Still, it was 6pm! Night time! (even thought the sun is still up in that district)
Her little girl (only 5 - just graduated kinder) is allowed to go out and play at 6pm at night. I don't understand the mother's thinking. It just seems so negligent to me.
When my children we little they were never allowed out of my site. If they went to the park I went with them, if they played in the street or out the front I went outside and watched them, if they went to a friends house I went with them (at the very least dropped them off and picked them up). They were not free to rome the streets, especially at such a young age!
By 6pm my 5 year old would be home having dinner and getting ready for bed. Small children should be going to bed early so they can recoup, grow and process all they've learned that day. Not be out alone, playing with friends.
This is why I ask: is this normal? Do parents usually let their young children play outside alone?
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