Hi, ladies! My 12-year-old son has started going out for runs by himself. We live in a very safe suburban town, and he likes to jog through the campus of the Veterans Hospital near our house. He stays on the main access road, visible to anyone driving by. There are usually a few people around, from staff to residents to golfers playing on the course in back of the hospital. I jog there myself frequently and feel it's very safe. But I see very few kids his age out running alone. Would you all let your son do this? He hasn't been taking his cell phone, so I plan on getting him a comfortable armband for it. My husband thinks I'm crazy to worry, but you never know!
Personally, I think 12 is a little young to go jogging alone, but if you are comfortable w/ the area he's running in, go ahead and let him. Make sure he takes a phone w/ him, though, and I like the pepper spray idea, too.
I can understand exactly where you are coming from. Our just turned 10 yo son independently runs 5ks during the spring.summerand fall months. Due to a long ago injury I cannot run at all, and while my husband also runs(marathons) he isn't always available to run with my son. I have struggled a lot with how far out of my sight I can let him run. We used to let him run around a neighborhood block and I would stand on the corner and could monitor him for about half of the time, but there have been some recent activities in the general area where we live and so I now make him run down the street as far as I can see him and then up past me (again to as far as I can see him).
With my son, he is still young enough he isn't self concious about me "having to watch him", he might even prefer it, but with a 12 yo boy, you or your husband may need to tie on some running shoes, or grab a bicycle if you are concerned.
At the very least, make sure you know what route he intends to take and that he has ID on him. I gave my husband and my son each one of those "instant" dog tags (with their name, ICE and my name and phone number) which they lace onto a shoe.
Our 13 year old DS runs and I while we also live in a "safe" area I am not crazy about him running alone. He hates taking a phone because he doesn't have a good place to put it while he runs. He has an armband for his iPod but it is only an iPod and not a phone. Thankfully he has found some classmates that live nearby who will go with him most of the time. I am going to get him one of those Road IDs. But I still don't let him go alone without his Tracfone.
I don't think that anyone should ever run alone, no matter what age that they are. You never know when you are going to have a medical problem and need someone else there to help you. A friend's 51 year old husband just had a serious accident on his mountain bike this past Monday night. He ended up having to crawl back to the main road to flag down help. He has a broken clavical, collar bone, and femur all on his right side.
It is not unusual to see 12 year olds jogging alone here at local parks, but I would prefer that it be a busy park where there are witnesses or help available if something happens.
We have fields less than a block from our house, and I'll let my son practice tennis or soccer there as long as he has his cell phone and follows our rules. There is a Boys and Girls Club building where the park is, and it overlooks the field and provides that there are a lot of kids playing at the field.
Makeup
- michelepr
on Jun. 21, 2012 at 9:33 AM