Our young girls love to be outside to enjoy the sun and fun! But is it safe for a 10 year old girl to take a walk, by herself? Let’s explore the public consensus to this question.
Generally, it is not safe for a 10 year old girl to go for a walk by herself. Situations ranging from her getting lost, to even kidnapped could occur at any moment! Luckily, there are precautions for this risky deal.
Learning how to keep your child safe while she independently walks is the ultimate goal. Consider the risk, and apply these simple and safe outdoor solutions to keep your child protected.
Be Proactive
Every 40 seconds, a child is abducted or kidnapped.
Parents provides 3 types of abduction that could occur:
- Family Kidnapping: When a member of your family takes your child
- Acquaintance Kidnapping: Someone you are familiar with is the abductor (i.e. co-worker)
- Stranger Kidnapping: The kidnapper is completely unfamiliar to you
Most cases of abduction are due to a child running away from their home; however, that doesn’t change the significance of this issue.
Knowing that anyone (even a family member!) can take your little girl at any moment creates a confident caution to watch over and protect her.
But not to worry! With knowledge of the risks that take place with permitting your young girl to short-travel by herself, keeping her secure will be easier than you think!
Try out some of these awesome safety techniques!
- Number In The Pocket: Simply write your full name and number on a card or piece of paper, and place in her pocket before she leaves the house. Easy!
- Child ID Kit: A collection of items with your child’s demographics listed on them for easy identification.
- BuddyTag GPS Bracelet: A non-invasive bracelet that keeps track of your child’s location.
- A Safe Word: A random word that is to be yelled very loudly in the case of a public incident
With smooth solutions like these, keeping up with your daughter, niece, or granddaughter will be way less stressful, and way more relieving!
Create A Buddy System
Sociocultural Theory suggests that the best learning takes place in social settings.
The goal of The Buddy System is to create mutual responsibility of your childs’ safety, whether they’re in the school yard, or on the neighborhood sidewalks.
The Buddy System creates many chances for your child to increase their awareness of social interaction with others, while providing security for your little girl by surrounding her with either another person, or a small group.
The friend or group then becomes an “extra pairs of eyes” to watch for, and report, any unwanted interaction.
How to create a credible Buddy System:
- Use the system during “child-accessible” events: such as public outings, concerts, school field trips, sleepovers, or even a snack run to the local convenience store.
- Give clear direction to all of the Buddies: Direct instructions that inform them of how to keep each other protected and safe.
- Check-in periodically: A quick update with your child and their Buddies while they’re out-and-about.
- Host social gathering for your children: Entertain their friends with a Nail Party, morning Yoga, or a friendly Barbeque, to build and maintain mutual trust.
The Buddy System is a huge benefit for her!
A Buddy can be anyone that you feel comfortable with around your little girl, such as Grandma or Grandpa, a significant other, cousins, or even a close friend of yours or theirs.
That creates a major sense of familiarity and comfort for both you, and your child.
It also promotes social independence, so your young girl may learn how to navigate through her neighborhood, with the watchful eyes of a protective friend or family member.
Learn About Your Neighborhood
Learning how your neighborhood operates is an easy way to keep any 10 year old girl safe, if she decides to take a stroll.
AreaVibes claim that engaging with your neighbors, experiencing the local amenities, and having knowledge of recent neighborhood crimes will create a realistic perspective of when, where, and for how long, your young girl can be outside by herself.
Check out these innovative approaches for providing protection for your young child while they engage in independent community play!
Create or join a Neighborhood Watch program
Tragically, most neighborhoods have had some form of crime happen within it. This type of program will enable you to stay in-the-loop about current neighborhood operations, and how to use them to keep your neighborhood children safe.
Get To Know Your Neighbors
“Are they too relaxed?” “Are they too strict?” “How do they engage with the kids?”
Connecting with your neighbors will create the opportunity to learn about who they are, and how they operate as a parent. Having this knowledge will cultivate parental relationships, and keep your child within a protective realm of guardians.
Here are some successful ice-breakers for getting to know your neighbor!
- Invite them to a public social outing
- Host a small potluck
- Ask questions about their work or hobbies
- Discuss the neighborhood and overall community
- Set a play-date with their child as a clever opportunity to observe their protection skills
Determine The Safety of Your Neighborhood’s Amenities
Are you aware of how safe your local conveniences are? I suggest taking the time to learn about what’s in and around your neighborhood.
Amenities like community centers, pools, nature or skate parks, and even the residential stores, tend to be in good shape, but may have some hazards that we are unaware of, especially at night.
These local entities are important factors for any child’s security, especially for a 10 year old girl. So enlisting them in the communal task of keeping your child safe sounds like a major benefit to you, your child, and your entire neighborhood!
Teach Your Child About Pedestrian Safety
Informing your children about how to be safe within their neighborhood is important, but can also be fun! You can practice pedestrian safety with cool activities that will make your little girl more aware of her surroundings.
Whether she is simply taking a walk, riding her bike or scooter, or enjoying chalk play on the sidewalk, the fact that she now has the knowledge to keep herself safe will fuel her drive to stay safe, within her own sense of independence and street-smarts.
Create Fun Indoor Activities
There are potential dangers that could happen to your little girl as she walked around the streets by herself. My advice: If you don’t want her to go out, give her a reason to stay in!
Indoor activities are one of the most effective ways to keep your child protected from outside dangers, simply because she’s not outside.
Developing cool activities that can be done inside of a house can be emotionally and mentally relieving for any parent or guardian, when it comes to the safety of their child.
Now, does it have to be inside of your house? Of course not! In my opinion, giving your child options of where she can play will develop her the willingness to listen and apply your suggestions.
You can choose to host a gathering at your house, or suggest a fun social at one of her friend’s house! That way, you are aware of where your little girl is, who she is with, how long she’ll be there, and that a fellow parent is there to watch over all of the children.
Let’s look at some exciting indoor activities.
- Arts & Crafts
- Salon Party (i.e hair, nails, skin care)
- Board Games & Group Activities
- Learning Activities (i.e. brain teasers)
- Backyard Sports
Your child will be more willing to engage in indoor activities if she has a friend or two to join her!
Promoting collective fun between her and her friends, while playing inside, will cultivate her awareness of how to have fun in the house, and decrease your stress of keeping your little girl out of harm’s way.
Related Fact!
Did you know?
There were 424,066 missing children cases reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
BUT!
- Only 4% were family abductions
- Less than 1% were nonfamily abductions
So with less than a 5% chance of your child becoming missing, there is still faith that a 10 year old girl can take a walk in her neighborhood, with safety and peace.
However, there is still a significant risk to allowing free range of travel for any young girl. So it’s our job to use our resources to create a safe environment for our children to securely roam and have fun!
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