A growing awareness of bullying and abuse have made many fear this rite of passage, but others say the positives outweigh the risks

  • sudo42@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I was an idiot. Parents would call up and say, “Hey, would you like us to drop off our kid at your house so both kids can play?”. I would decline, thinking to myself, “Are you kidding? I already have my hands full with one kid, why would I offer you free babysitting?”

    Only later did I learn that kids (depending on age) will play together and entertain themselves. This relieved me of entertaining my kid and the other parents could get a break also.

    What an idiot I was.

    • curiousaur@reddthat.com
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      1 day ago

      Wow, I learned this when my kid was like 2. The 4 year old across the street was practically already a babysitter. They could play in the sandbox together for hours, and the older kid would let me know if mine had any potty training accidents.

      I have cameras around the property so I could keep an eye on them.

      They’re 3 and 5 now and practically already live like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, running off into the forest to collect berries, mushrooms, and cook rocks.