A few years back, after the first Reasonable Childhood Independence law passed in Utah – a great day! – we received a query from a lawmaker. He

What Age Should Kids LEGALLY Be Allowed to Play Outside?

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2025-01-10 07:30:04

A few years back, after the first Reasonable Childhood Independence law passed in Utah – a great day! – we received a query from a lawmaker. He said he wanted his state to pass a similar law assuring parents that allowing their kids to play outside, stay home alone, walk to school, etc., would not be mistaken for neglect. And so, he’d drafted a bill:

Parents are not to be investigated or accused of neglect simply for letting their children, ages 10 and up, engage in independent childhood activities.

In the years we’ve been advocating on this issue, we often encounter well-intended people like that lawmaker who believe the right to childhood independence should be granted. But only to children above a certain age. Usually, the suggested age is much higher than we know many children could manage.

Because we firmly believe that parents know their own children best, and because the circumstances for giving independence vary wildly by the activity, the geography, the child’s preparation, etc., etc. AND because all these parameters can’t be laid out in a neat set of boundaries, we oppose legislating age limits in both laws and policies.