How Old Were Your Kids When You Let Them....

8 years old.

7 years old (I think....it's been awhile. They were already playing in a couple blocks radius of home without adult supervision).

Not until high school.

They've seen a couple of action movies that were rated R. I always check commonsensemedia.org to determine exactly why the movie is rated R. Shoot em ups are fine with me, gore is not, nor is explicitly sexual content.

can't remember, too old.
:)
almost certainly way before most people here.
:D
khairete
S.

Front seat - when they met the height and weight requirements.

Park - still not....it's in the front of the neighborhood, we live in the back .5 miles away. Too many non-neighborhood people come in to use the basketball court, so we go with them still if they want to go - rarely.

Cell phones - 6 for our oldest. It was for dance when we weren't allowed to be with her, due to space contraints. She used it maybe twice. The other two don't yet.

R rated movies - we never really cared...it's more about the actual content and what the movie is. There are very few they aren't allowed to watch. We all love Madea and Kevin Hart, most of those are R rated but we all love them.

They are 8, 10, and 12.

Too many variables for a comparison.

My oldest has always been very tall so she was in the front seat around 10 the youngest just started at 12.

We live in a very safe area, walk around with friends 8-9 years.

We are a "late" cell family. Don't think it's good for young kids to have 24/7 internet access and my kids were never interested in anything but iphones. Both got them at 13.

Same with R rated. Movies we'd seen already that had some value along with the R rating stuff at around 10. Still don't let the 13 year old see just any old R movie. We've found current R rating is nothing like the old school R.

Front seat, followed the law.
Park, depends on age, maturity, safety of neighborhood, etc. For us, around 8, 9 years old.
Cell phone, 6th grade because that's when there was no more after school care and they started getting home or to sports practice after school on their own.
R movies...WAY too soon I'm sure, though my husband was even more lenient than me. I was less concerned about swearing and sex, more concerned about violence and how women and girls were portrayed.
Kids are 22, 19 and 16 now and so far healthy and (generally) happy, functioning young people!

I have a big age gap between my kids (14 yrs - 27 yrs) and this post makes me realize the changes that my family has gone through over the years!

I can remember my oldest sitting in a car seat in the front seat as an infant. My youngest two (14 and 16) both still sit in the back when we go somewhere.

My oldest two could walk to the park (3 blocks away) at 5 or 6 yrs old if they went together. My younger kids had to wait until they were 10 - 12 yrs old (park was still 3 blocks away).

All the kids got cell phones when they started jobs so 16 (my youngest two do not work so they do not have phones).

R rated movies - probably as teens, but not in my home or with my permission. Once they were old enough to go on their own, I'm sure they did :) However, I didn't "monitor" books (other than to read them myself). They probably read some "R rated books" much younger.

Interesting question!

Ride in front - still not and he will be 9 in September, and comes past my shoulder (tall kid) but I probably could get away with it. I'm not sure what the law is so I haven't let him yet. I'll probably hit Google in the next year or so and try to figure it out.

Go to park a few blocks away - again, not yet. Maybe in another year or so. We've been in the country till a few months ago so we're still adjusting to "town life".

Get a cell phone - not sure. my hope is to make it to 10 and if there is a need, maybe one with strict limitations (*shudder*), but NOT if it's not NEEDED for communication with his dad, stepdad, and me.

See R rated movies - probably 15 or 16. Depending where he's at. I let him watch PG-13 and I'm not 100% thrilled with it but he loves them.(Transformers, Star Trek, the superhero movies, are all hits in our house)

All parents are different on this so take our experiences with a grain of salt. Your situation is probably quite different than anyone else's.

I think a lot of this is so dependent on the maturity of the child and the area you live in.

For front seat it is about size, not age. When the chest belt hits him in the right place then I will let him.

For the park, 11.

Both my boys have cell phones, they were 8 or 9 when they got them

With R rated movies it depends on why they are rated R and they watch them with me or I see them first. When they are 13+ I will be less restrictive about it.

ride in the front seat? by law they can't do it till they are 8 yrs old.
go to the park w/a friend? probably when they are 8 if they are responsible
get a cell? when they start driving they will get a calls only phone to keep in the glovebox for emergencies only. (unless they have a job that they can aford their own phone)
R rated movies i would watch first and then decide. and it would depend on the movie.

Ride in the front - 10 and over 75lbs but only around town and never on highways or interstate. That will be 12.

Local park with a friend- also 10 which coincides with the cell phone. Now that he has one he can take it to the park.

See R rated movies - depends on the movie, sex and drugs nope, but violence (depending on how bad) yes. My kids watched the ghost and the darkness when they were about 7 & 9 maybe a little younger. I didn't know it was rated R until they watched it a few more times.

DS is 9 1/2 (going into 4th grade).

Front seat: Not yet. 12-13 is minimum. He's tall, but front seat safety is about AGE not only height because the risk is internal decapitation by the airbag and is about having a young spine.

Go to the park w/out adult: started this summer. He does park and library (each a couple of neighborhood blocks from our house) on his bike. He has a set time limit with an alarm on his watch and has to return home when it goes off.

Cell phone: Not yet. Well he had an "emergency phone" when he was 4 and had overnights at his dad's, but not since then and not a personal phone.

See R rated movies: We watch a lot of PG13 now and have since he was 8, so I'm sure R movies will come before he's 17, but none yet.

-T.

My son wasn't big enough to ride in the front seat until he was 12.

My kids have been going to the local park on their own since they were about seven. We live in a nice neighbourhood and they took "safe walk" classes.

My kids will not get cell phones until they have jobs and can pay a monthly bill, so I guess when they are 15 or 16. They have had ipods since they were nine.

They have seen R rated movies since they were little. They are big horror fans like me.

My 11 year old can ride in the front seat she's just under 5' and 116lbs.

She's not allowed to go a local park nor a few blocks away on her own. It has nil to do with maturity but rather to do with the neighborhood.

We're in discussions about a cellphone due to after school activities and no access to either school or payphones.

She's allowed to watch various R rated movies with us. One of her favorites is A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Cell phone in Junior High because they were starting to do activities away from us and we needed to know where they were. R rated movies, my kids still don't do that so I'm not sure (they are 14 and 15). Local park, lots of particulars about this, no blanket answer, it depends on so much (how responsible they are, who they're with, the neighborhood etc.) Ride in the front seat?? I forgot that one.

Ride in the front passenger seat?
When the seat-belt wasn't at her neck, she likes the back better in my minivan.

Go to the local park / few blocks from home with a friend (no adult)?
We have never lived close enough to anything to walk to it.

Get a cell phone?
She still doesn't have one, but got an iPod at 4.

See R rated moves (did you let them before the recommended age)?
It depends on the movie or TV show, I think some are worse then others.

We didn't let my son ride in the front seat until he was about 12... and now at 13, he does all the time..
He got his own phone when he was 12 (nothing too fancy)
only recently this summer did he go across town by himself to a library and then take the local bus from summer school...
In terms of R rated movies.. He has seen some (mostly foreign) although not ones with a lot of nudity in as much as adult themes that might involve drugs.... the french film called the Intouchables (they smoked some pot) and many Italian films , The Great Beauty, Malena.... the list goes on..

I don't believe it was law at the time, but we let my SD sit in the front when she was about 11 or 12 and the same height as myself.

Go to a park? Depends on the park and the friend 10-12, since our parks are not nearby and one is very secluded. Similarly around 10 she could bike to a friend's house by herself and by 11 SS was entrusted by himself after school (SD was not because she was less mature).

Their mother got SD a cell phone at 10. IMO, it is better suited for a teenager, and my DD will not get one til she needs it or 13/14. SS got his at 13 or 14 and was more responsible. DD will need to show responsibility. I'm not replacing a phone every 4 months like her sister's mother did.

R rated movies were up to their bioparents, and unfortunately their mother put convenience over parenting. My own DD will need to wait til her teens, and then it may still depend on content.

It matters VERY MUCH who the kid is and how mature they are and how they handle things. Many things SD could not handle at a younger age her older brother could.

I let her ride in the front seat when she was tall enough for the shoulder belt to not be in a posdition to decapitate her.

We didn't live close enough to a park for her to walk there until she was a teenager.

We gave her a cell phone for her 15th birthday.

She saw R-rated movies before she could talk. I didn't censor her reading, tv, or music.

for each of these questions I will give the ages for each child, so the first answer will be for the now 16 yr old, the second one will be for the almost 13 yr old, both are girls
Front seat - 13, 11 (actually, we have smart airbags so it was really since birth but that was only if we had too many people to have them in back, the 11 and 13 was when it was an always option)
local park - they could go explore the neighborhood together when they were about 8 and 5 I think
cell phone - 14, when they enter high school, cause we are walking distance to the other schools
R rated movie- this is movie specific, but at sleep overs they were shown R rated movies w/o my permission when they were about 10....

Front seat - when he hit the legal limit for height and weight.

Park - we don't have one nearby, but he road his bike in the neighborhood from age 7 on, and with a friend he could go farther (about 3/4 mile in either direction). But we live on a street that isn't a cut-through but does have a lot of families with a lot of recognition. He went downtown with a friend (3 miles) at about 10 - but the main street is in front of the police station and fire station so there was plenty of high visibility.

Cell phone - high school. When he was on the track team in 9th grade and we never knew when practice was going to end, he got a phone.

R rated - it depended on why it was R rated. Bad language, we didn't object to. He heard all that on the school bus in 2nd grade. He didn't go to the theaters obviously, but if we parents were considering watching something on video, we determined why the R rating had been assigned and then decided. Nudity and blood/guts and a lot of killing or beating up of women? 17 like the rules said. If it was violent but sort of other-worldly (like Star Wars-type movies that carried those ratings), then younger because it wasn't realistic. We did not have any video games at all so we never had to deal with Grand Theft Auto and those things.

Front seat - When they were tall enough to not need a booster and have the seat belt fit properly AND after they were 12 when their skeleton is strong enough and formed enough to take any potential impact if anything were to happen. I can't remember ever having a situation where I had to let anyone in the front because there was no room in the backseat. Laws and actual safety haven't caught up with each other as far as how old you should be when you sit in the front seat.

Walking to the local park without an adult - Still haven't but that's because of where we live and the high amount of traffic. Also, the closest park is not all that close. I would let my older 2 if things were different.

Cell phone - Not yet because they have no use for it at the moment. They are guaranteed to get one once they get their drivers license. They are home schooled and not constantly away so they have no reason for one. When they have a need for one they will get one at that point, and yes it will be a smartphone with all the bells and whistles because in today's world there are every day uses for it.

R Rated movies - Depends on why it's rated R but all 3 of my kids have seen more than a few R rated movies and none of them have reached the "recommended age". Honestly, those ratings are such a joke!

My 3 are 14, 11 & 6.

My daughter was 11 I guess when she officially sat up front. However, I also have a 2 seater sports car and I allowed her with me in it as well but more limited/shorter trips.

Cell phone 5th grade

Our community pool and park, summer of 5th grade.

R movie, probably about the same time with me. She hates horror movies but she was avid Harry Potter fan, Twilight series and a few comedies.

Driving herself to school, age 16
Living in her own condo ( about 20 minutes from us) age 18. We own it so we don't charge her rent but she is in charge of all of her food, gas, entertainment, etc.

Mine are 5 and 8, so we haven't done most of these. However, I let my 8yo go to the park just under a block away with her friend, who is an 8 yo boy who lives down the street.

I do worry a bit, but I want to encourage independence. If I had the nerve, I'd be a total free-range parent. That might not work with my younger kiddo, though, who is both bold and curious while lacking impulse control and common sense.

Our son was in the 4th grade when he was big enough to ride in the front seat - he was 9 yrs old - over 5 ft tall (he was as tall as me in the 5th grade).
We don't have a park down the street from us - we live in the middle of a soybean field.
We gave him a cell phone (basic, not a smart phone) when he was in 8th grade - he only texts/calls us (parents) - and he used it on his band trip (10th grade) to Disney World to keep in touch with chaperones.

We watch movies that interest us - movies with a lot of gore, violence, swearing and sex/nudity don't interest us.
He loved the Jurasic Park movies since he was 4 - they never scared him - but many kids would be scared.
Interestingly enough - it was a Spy Kids movie that scared him (a lava monster really spooked him) - and most kids love those movies.
We watch most movies at home - we didn't take him to theaters for a long time.
So as far as ratings go, you just have to really know your kid(s).

Front seat? Age 12. That's the law, isn't it? I mean, unless all the back seats are full.
Go to the local park/blocks from home with no adult? When he got his license to drive. So, 16. (but we don't live anywhere near a park, it's rural and there are no "blocks"... they'd go wander in the woods alone at age 13 though)

Cell phone? No need for one until he joined the wrestling team and the athletic bus dropped the kids off at a gas station 2 miles from home at 7 pm at night in the winter. He was 15.

Daughter got her cell phone at 13, because at that point, we were ready to cut the land line cord, and she wouldn't have a phone if she was home alone or the wi-fi was out.

R rated movies? Well, daughter still doesn't. She's 14. Son is 17 now, so he can go when he wants I suppose. I don't think he has yet, though. He does want to go see SouthPaw, and husband and I have seen it and have no problem with that.

No, we did not let them see them before the recommended age. Unless it was a really old movie when the ratings were more strict/narrow. An R rated movie from 1980 was much different from one today, ya know?
hmm.. Chappie was R rated? Well, I know he's seen that. I guess they've seen more than I realized.. .we watch so much on Netflix that I don't always even know. Husband looks up what the reason for the ratings are, and if it's not anything we object to, they watch with us. Like, Braveheart for example. It's rated R, but they've seen that.

My girls are 5 and 3 so none of these are truly set in stone for our family yet.

Girls already know that they have to be 10 to ride in the front seat.

Really depends on the friend and how far away the park but probably around 10.

Cell Phones will probably be 11 or 12, around the beginning of middle school.

Depends on why the movie is rated R and why they want to see it.

Front seat - 12, that's when they fit the seatbelt.

Local parks - 10, we have 3 parks within a half-mile of the house.

Cell phone - When they are old enough to have a job and pay for it.

R Movies - I'm not sure they have seen any. They are not into the types of movies that are generally ranked R. They've watched some old 1980s PG movies that are pretty scary. Those movies are why the PG-13 rating came to be.

front seat - when they were tall and heavy enough (I have big kids)

park - 3-4th grade but the police station was across the street and the park only 1 street over and we live in a very good neighborhood

cell - I think it was about 3rd grade but only because their dad didn't let them call us when had them. They didn't take them to school until high school and we have parental controls and a paid monitor app on them.

R movie - I think they just saw their first one with us, it was Chappie and it was a month or so ago from Redbox. I didn't realize it was R until it started. I quickly checked commonsense.org and decided it was ok. It was mostly cussing, some drug use and a flash of breasts in the background.

My kids are 12 and 15.

My oldest is (almost) 11 and once in awhile I'll allow him to ride in the front seat with me. It's rare and just started recently. It was actually started by my husband. I don't have a problem with it though, the reason it's so rare is because it's not often that it's just him and I in the car. We normally have my other kids as well.

My boys are 10 and 9, I'll allow them to stay home alone for 2-3 hours at most, but have not gotten up to allowing them to leave the house alone yet. Too many kids go missing and I'm terrified of something happening while they are out. I think next summer we will get to that part.

My 10 year old has a cell phone for emergencies. It is a basic prepaid phone with no internet access. Just for calling and texting. We have told him he needs to prove he can be responsible with that before we get him anything better. He has had it for about 9 months now! So we are actually looking into getting him something for his birthday in a couple weeks.

As far as movies, I am very cautious and conservative about what I allow them to watch. Too many shows and movies have so much nudity and sex and violence that I don't want them exposed to that before they're ready. They've never watched an R movie, they've watched some pg13 with my husband and I, but that's all so far. My parents allowed me to watch R movies when I was 5 and it wasn't ok. I was exposed to too much too fast!

My kids aren't old enough to do any of this yet but I will put my .02 in anyways :)

My kids are almost 2, 6 and 8.

Rated R movies I would say depending on the content, around 9-10year old. Son likes Transformers and LOTR so I would think some content like that is okay for him but daughter doesn't like anything remotely scary (she's the oldest). She doesn't even watch Goosebumps. So for her, I think 16!

Cell phone - we said we would discuss at 12.

Walk to the park - we live about 2 blocks from the park in a safe neighborhood/town but I'd still say not until they are 12/13. That is mainly because if my 13 year old goes, her 11 year old brother will want to go and I don't TRUST other people (not my kids) so I would be too afraid. Maybe I will change my mind in a few years.

Ride in the front seat - age 11 (It depends on how big your kid is)
Go to the local park with a friend - 5th grade (age 11)
Get a cell phone - start of 6th grade (age 12)
See R rated movie - have not done this yet. I'm not sure. It depends on the movie and perhaps age 15 with an adult?

13 for the front seat.
Park is 1/2 mile and not really an attraction for my kids. I let my daugther go to the skate park by herself when she was 12--mile away. She met friends there and came home before it got dark.
They just got cell phones at Christmas and a very crappy "free" plan. I will be getting them better phones next month with T-mobile. Juniors in HS and 16. They have had their Ipods for texting since one was 12 (bought it herself), others were 14.
R-rated movies depends on the movie. I think they saw Halloween when they were 10.

I think all 3 of mine were allowed in the front seat around 6 or 7 (all very tall and no airbags).

Local park ... 8 or 9 ... it was in our little neighborhood and they could go with the group of kids (around a dozen) on our cul-de-sac.

Cell phone ... the youngest still doesn't have one and he's 17 LOL But he's also not really involved in activities so doesn't really need one. The older two each got one around 12 or 13 due to activities ... I had 3 in baseball at 3 different fields so needed to know when each one got done with practice. I was always with the younger one.

R rated movies ... I don't really know. I've never cared about them seeing sex or nudity or even cursing or such. Violence I've been a little stricter on but we just kind of went by how they handled everything. Rather than an "age".

My kids are now 22, 20 and 17 :) So yeah ... it's been a while since any of this was an issue for me LOL And I gotta say .... I'm GLAD I had my kids when I did.

I was fine with him riding in front at 11 but he decided to wait until 12. now I get to hold his hand from time to time....delicious!!

to the park with a friend alone, I want to say 12. which is probably too old but he didn't have a phone until then.

he got his phone when he started middle school, which would have made him 12. it started out as in case of emergency and we've evolved our use agreements ever since then. he's quite the negotiator.

still no R rated movies. He had quite the fit when I refused to allow him to see the Alien trilogy...I know there are more but there shouldn't have been... I took the fit as evidence that he wasn't mature enough. That was a fun evening. I'm thinking 15 or maybe even 16 for that sort of thing. I do allow PG-13 and I do try to provide the guidance, especially for the violence and sexual content.

Wasn't I just changing diapers like a month ago???????? Where is the time going. fun question, thanks L.!! S.