What Is the Appropriate Age?

I have some burning questions for you today.

At what age would you let your son or daughter...use a public restroom on his/her own? Stay at home alone? Go on a sleepover? Go to sleepaway camp for the weekend or even a whole week? Get a cell phone?



I know the answers to these questions will vary from parent to parent, and depend on the maturity of the child, but I always find it fascinating to have these conversations with friends and find out their perspective.  Sometimes I find that other parents feel the same way I do, and other times I find that I'm in the minority on what I would allow or not allow my child to do.  But isn't that how parenting is?  We are all so different, and a lot of our prior experiences dictate how we parent and set rules for our kids.

Buddy Roller is now nine (almost ten), and I still prefer that he goes to the public restroom with me or his Dad. Our number one rule is if we can't see you, then you are too far away, and we let that be the guideline for a number of decisions. So if we're in a store, at a restaurant, or at the park, for example, we must be able to see him at all times.  It's not so much that we don't trust him. It's the fact that this world is a crazy place, and I'd rather not take any chances.

Staying at home alone, going on a sleepover, or sleepaway camp, are just out of the question for me. At least at this moment in time. Sleepovers are perfectly fine at grandma's or at my sister's house.  And maybe in time, when Buddy Roller is older, more mature and responsible, my thoughts will change on the matter.

I'll share more on why I feel this way in my upcoming post, "On Raising a Champion."