Well said! I do let my daughter walk ahead of me if we take walks or go into the library before me while I am getting her younger brothers out of the car, etc. She has freedom, it’s just that it’s not complete alone freedom if that makes sense? I give her some lead way but still keep the boundaries, also I let her walk our dog a bit up the road from our home but I am standing at the end of my driveway watching her and she goes up a couple houses and comes back walking the dog, it’s a short walk & I am watching her the WHOLE time but just that little bit of “extra” free time helps her feel great and boosts her mood.

My son doesn’t get to do a lot of things (what kid in the world needs to drink coffee??) and I know I’m hard on him sometimes, but he gets excellent grades, he’s pretty well-mannered and he’s a happy kid.

Lately his thing is wanting to walk to the bus stop by himself. I don’t let him. I let him walk ahead of me, and I stop a block before the bus stop and wait, watching, until he gets on the bus. I don’t think many parents look back and wish they had been less careful with their children, and I don’t want to be one of the too-many parents of children that have gone through horrific tragedy to say “I wish I had been more careful”.