I've been banging heads with a daycare mom lately. She feels it should be okay for me to let her child (almost 3) to play outside without me. I've explained many times that I do not let any child outside alone at that age. She also has an almost 5 year old, who I will let outside with other older kids when I am not also out there. She allows her chldren to both play outside alone at home and because of that feels it should be okay here.

At what age do you allow daykids to play outside without you being out there 100% of the time? Do your thoughts change if the yard is fenced or not??

Thanks!

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For me it depends on the maturity level of the child. Although I feel almost 3 or even new 3 is too young. But it also depends on who else is outside and as you said whether there is a fence or not. I have video/audio survelance (sp?) and a fence on 3 sides so I am okay (as are the parents) with kids who arent SA being outside without me...dependant on above factors. Youngest I have ever let out...3 yrs old. I have a 6 yr old I do NOT let out without me for behavioral reasons so again it all depends on many factors.

Sorry I was not much help was I?

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Before I had my fence, never outside without me. Now that I do have a fence I"ll let my SA out every once in a while as long as I can always see them from my sliding glass doors. When on the rare occasion I do allow it, the door is open and we have an ongoing dialog.It's only when I have kids eating/sleeping that I've allowed it.

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My licensing laws say that school aged kids may be out alone, in a fenced in yard only (meaning 5 and up). Personally, I would want to be there no matter what the age. You never know what they are going to hurt or what mess they'll get into

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here they HAVE to be school age (kindergarden or higher) to play outside alone.

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I also wanted to welcome you to the board!

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Around 3, but it depends on the child.

I say that because, I have a 3 year old right now who is going through a phase where I can barely let out of my sight inside the house let alone outside!

I have a full walkout basement, with windows that I can see the entire backyard so I can supervise pretty closely from inside.

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here they are allowed to at 7 yrs with signed perm from parents by the state,.. but my personal rules is NEVER. we are all together at all times. period.

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Thank you for the Welcome. I am in MN and haven't found any concrete rule regarding this.

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does this help? Maybe not...

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/?id=9502.0425

Also, i think in MN the county rules will be more specific. Have you checked your county site?

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I am in MN and my licensor says "You need to be within sight and/or hearing of them at all times and the outside with or without a provider is left up to the provider and parent to collectively agree on."

I think she is basically saying it is our responsibility to provide a safe environment to a child at all times so it is up to us to use our best judgment and commuicate together with the parent since she can find no hard concrete rules in this area either.

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5 and older here, anything under then you need me outside or with my odds.

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Funny, Blackcat, because I know that "within sight and/or hearing" line is posted in the rule book regarding SAs and other things, but my licensor uses that EXACT EXACT phrase. I do live in MN, but I live completely on the other end of the state from you, so it is not the same licensor. Maybe it's a licensing line that they learn or something.

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I didn't let my own kids play outdoors until they were over 5 & that was with me checking on them a lot & basically joining them to play after they were outdoors for a short time on their own (@ 10 min). DCK I wouldn't let outdoors on their own but then I don't have a fenced in backyard.

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yea sure the parent says its okay at age 3, but i bet as soon as that child gets hurt she is going to blame you for not being out there keeping an eye on the child. id say age 7 and up and never alone, my children go out as a group or not at all.

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That's word for word what mine says too, lol. They must learn it in Licensing School

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I bet that is the topic at all licensor trainings. "How to use vague phrases and undefineable terms." or "How to sound like you know exactly what your talking about when you really have no idea." LOL!

Sorry, that was uncalled for but I couldn't help it...it's Friday and I am giddy b/c I am done in less than an hour!!!!

I actually LOVE my licensor...I seriously doubt anyone has one as awesome as mine! She answers her phone 99% of the time and if not she returns phone calls immediately and usually has some really good advice/info/resources and most of all she always takes time to listen to all of the providers in our county.

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I would send my own dd out at 3 to play on her own, as long as I could supervise her from inside, but never a dck. That said, licensing wouldn't allow me to anyway.

I had a 7 and 10 year old in care last year, and even THEY couldn't be trusted outside alone while I was in my kitchen watching their every move.

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Use your own judgment if you don't have a concrete rule from state. Personally I would not let a 3yr old outside w/o being there.

Ours states:Type of Supervision Required Based on Age, Activity, and Location of the Child
SITUATION
BIRTH to 2 1/2 YEARS 2 1/2 to SCHOOL-AGE SCHOOL-AGE
INSIDE/AWAKE DIRECT INDIRECT INDIRECT
INSIDE/ASLEEP INDIRECT INDIRECT INDIRECT
BASEMENT/AWAKE DIRECT DIRECT INDIRECT a
BASEMENT/ASLEEP DIRECT DIRECT DIRECT
OUTSIDE DIRECT DIRECT b INDIRECT c
a. School-age children may play in an approved basement use area with indirect supervision provided
they are able to demonstrate they can readily open and exit through the door or exit window
without assistance.
b. For children 2 1/2 to school-age, indirect supervision may be used providing the outside area is
fenced, free of hazards, and immediately adjacent to the home.
c. School-age children may go down the block to a nearby playground, bike in the immediate
neighborhood or wait at a bus stop with written parental permission specifying:
* Clear boundaries for the children's travels.
* Time frames for checking out and checking back in. Children, parents and the caregiver
should have an understanding of the safety of the neighborhood.
For the purposes of this rule, school-age is defined as any child attending kindergarten or a higher
grade.

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I wouldn't feel comfortable letting any of the children in my care -- especially a 3 year old -- play outside without me being out there with them.

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Here, it is school age and higher. I have let 5 year olds play in the backyard where I can see them through the glass door. My own child, I will let play out there this summer I think, she will be almost 3. My 7 year old of course plays outside alone all the time. Our yard is fully fenced.

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I have a fully fenced yard with a play structure and only my son (5 years) is allowed outside alone. Even then, he knows I have to be able to see him from the house so no going to the far spots in the yard or around the other side of my garage.

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Here it is school age and older. Accreditation standards are ages 6 and older can be outside on their own.

Personally, I don't allow the kids in my care to be outside without me. There are a few exceptions to that which would include the school agers but I agree that you never know what they may get into or do while you're not looking.

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I occasionally let my own 3yo outside alone--in warm weather, with the front door left open so I can hear her. The front yard is fenced, don't freak out...

If my house was a different set-up (bi-level, backyard not accessible from the main/top level of the home), I would totally let her outside alone ALL THE TIME because she's trustworthy and our yard is fenced. Daycare kiddos...would depend, but since our set-up is annoying (where's that lottery money so I can renovate the kitchen and put a door to the back in there?!) it's not even a question.

That said, since the front is fenced, I do send each kid outside the door as soon as I have his/her shoes/coat/etc on. I do it in age-order (oldest to youngest) and the door is open behind me (storm door shut in the winter though but I can see), but technically they're alone for a short period. Our door opens onto a tiny landing though and there's not much space.

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I was told they have to be school age so that's what I go by. Although my neighbor who has been doing daycare for like 30 years lets all her kids outside unsupervised and no one seems to bother her about it. So who knows? Personally I say 5 is a good rule. I do let my dd (3) out to play when her brothers (6&7) are out, but only during non daycare hours.

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In this day and age, I don't know when I would allow my kids to be out playing alone. Right now, they are only 3 and 6 and I'm always with them when they want to play outside.

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I never let kids out alone no matter the age (and my yard is fenced-in, no pool). I don't know what the regs say, but I'm sure I'm safer than the regs on this one.

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I don't leave the kids alone outside at anytime. There is just to much maddness in the world! You never know what may happen all of the sudden, and you never know who could be lurking. Just something I'm not comfortable with.

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Mine are all under 4 and I have a fully fenced back yard. I would never let them play outside without me.

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i would NEVER let dc kids be outside alone - especially not at three. now, i do think the opinions here do differ depending on surroundings (fences, near a street, etc.) because in my last home my answer for even my OWN kids would've been NEVER bc there was a street and no fence. obviously, if i wouldn't let my own kids do it then dc kids would be out of the question.

where i live now my OWN kids do go outside without me and i don't have a fence - but we live on a huge piece of flat land on a pretty dead street. i have 2 kids so they're allowed out to play TOGETHER - never alone. even though my own kids know the "rules" i have still caught them "out of bounds" and it has made me very nervous and resulted in them not being able to go out alone for long periods of time. kids will be kids - even if they KNOW they aren't supposed to cross a certain point, if they want to catch a butterfly that's beyond that point, they're gonna chase it bc they think you're not looking - and you may not be. i've caught my kids doing this even though the line they weren't supposed to cross was still not dangerous AT ALL - it was scary bc they did do what i told them they couldn't. of course they said, "it's only right there. it's not the street, etc." but still.

i'm surprised that a mother would WANT you to let her 3 year old play out alone. i'd never do it - i don't care what a parent wants - no way.

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Hey! Welcome! I am from MN too! The rule is here is that we must be in a position where we can intervene to PREVENT an injury or accident when we are talking about non-school aged kids. Here is the kicker, lets say you are on the deck (at least my deck, because it is about 20 steps to the bottom, plus unlocking the gate) watching the kids, you can see them and you can hear them, but if Jimmy starts to take a header off the swingset there is no way in the world you are going to get there in time. So...in that case, lets say Jimmy needs stitches, anytime a daycare kid is injured to the point that they need medical attention, we are supposed to notifiy licensing. And, you will most likely be written up for lack of supervision.

So, what you need to tell Mama-Bear is that it is against licensing rule for her 3 year-old to be outside alone. If the State were to make a visit and her child were outside unattended you would have a problem on your hands! So, despite how much you would love to send her little darling out to play by himself, it simply can't be done.

School-aged kids, with a signed permission slip from Mom or Dad are not only allowed to be outside alone, they can leave the property alone. Now, personally, I only do this for my much older school agers. My son and his friend who, last summer were both 10 years old. This year they are both 11 and as such, no longer count in my numbers. I've been watching the little monster since he was 3...

ps: I do have a fence and it is still now allowed.

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Not sure here what the rule is. It's probably at least school aged. I don't do school age and we always have to be within ratio outside so it's not an issue for us so I haven't researched it.

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